Between the 1870s and the 1930s, the Lake Superior Ojibwe negotiated dramatic economic, political, and social changes. Spanning that period, which began with the tribe's removal to reservations and closed with the Indian New Deal, this book explores the critical relationship between Ojibwe sovereignty and labor. Following the transitions within key industries where the Ojibwe made their living, from the fur trade to agricultural and timber production to cultural tourism, the book argues that while encroaching white settlement forced the Ojibwe of Minnesota and Wisconsin to adapt to rapidly cha ... More

Between the 1870s and the 1930s, the Lake Superior Ojibwe negotiated dramatic economic, political, and social changes. Spanning that period, which began with the tribe's removal to reservations and closed with the Indian New Deal, this book explores the critical relationship between Ojibwe sovereignty and labor. Following the transitions within key industries where the Ojibwe made their living, from the fur trade to agricultural and timber production to cultural tourism, the book argues that while encroaching white settlement forced the Ojibwe of Minnesota and Wisconsin to adapt to rapidly changing political and economic circumstances, they nevertheless strategically used treaty rights claims to sustain the seasonally determined subsistence activities that supplied the rhythm and texture of traditional Ojibwe life. Synthesizing information from diverse sources, including WPA documents, government reports, news stories, tourist scrapbooks, and Ojibwe memoirs, the book shows that even as American expansion and colonialism curtailed the Ojibwe's land base and sovereignty, Ojibwe people advocated for and exercised treaty rights in ways that allowed them to sustain indigenous lifeways while simultaneously meeting contemporary needs—a process of self-determination that continues today.