Wayside: "Abi Maa Pii" (At Home Here)

""Abi Maa Pii" (At Home Here) wayside sign in Port Oneida

Quick Facts

Location:

44° 57' 29.988" N, 85° 56' 24.042" W

Amenities

1 listed

Audio Description

Main Exhibit Text

During the 1800s, the various communities of Ottawa/Odawa in Northern Michigan had to make difficult choices in order to stay in their ancestral homelands. Federal Indian removal policies were meant to move them west of the Mississippi River. The growing number of Euro-American settlers wanted their lands. Diseases were devastating all tribal populations. Yet despite these immense obstacles, the Odawa maintained a place at home here. Several Odawa and Chippewa/Ojibway chiefs made the decision to make Grand Traverse Bay their permanent home in the first half of the 1800s. Among them was the band of Waukazoo. Originally from Waganakising, (Little Traverse Bay) Waukazoo first chose Black Lake, near Holland, Michigan, as his community’s home. When he passed away, his sons, Joseph and Peter, took leadership. Life was hard at Black Lake. Waukazoo’s band suffered great losses from diseases. White settlers began to press for lands. In 1849, Peter Waukazoo and his community decided to return home to the Leelanau Peninsula. On their departure north, they loaded their canoes and boats with their families and goods. In several of these vessels were their ancestors. They reburied their kin immediately upon returning north and establishing their homes. Today, the descendants of Waukazoo’s band and other prominent leaders like Aghosa and Peshaby help make up the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Background Image Description

The background of this exhibit is a watercolor style illustration depicting a bay filled with canoes and people. It is a historic scene of the various Native American communities of Ottawa in Northern Michigan moving their belongings in canoes. There are eleven canoes, some floating in the water and approaching the shoreline, while others are pulled up on the shore. The canoes are filled with people and boxes of various sizes. Some people stand on the shore, unloading their belongings. In the bottom right corner of the illustration are stacks of boxes, trunks, and baskets.