Our History
Madeline Island is a spiritual center of the Lake Superior Chippewa. A traditional Anishinaabeg story says that Great Spirit Gitche Manitou told the people to travel west to the place where the "food grows upon the water". They traveled until they reached the area of the wild rice that grew in the marshes in nearby Chequamegon Bay.
Madeline Island is named after Madeleine Cadotte, Ikwesewe, a daughter of the Ojibwe chief White Crane and his wife. Madeleine married fur trader Michel Cadotte and they were prominent leaders on the island in the 19th century.
The island was inhabited by Native Americans, fur traders and missionaries for over 400 years, and has flown the flags of France, Great Britain and the United States.
Photo Courtesy of the Madeline Island Ferry Line
Chief Buffalo, “Kechewaishke”, led his nation in several Treaties with the United States government, including the Treaties of 1825, 1826, 1837, 1842, 1847 and 1854. He was instrumental in resisting the efforts of the United States to remove the Ojibwe from their homes, and worked tirelessly to secure permanent land and Tribal sovereignty for his people.
In the spring of 1852, Chief Buffalo traveled to Washington, D.C. After meeting with President Millard Fillmore, the President canceled a removal order, returned annuity payments, and enacted the Treaty of 1854.
On September 30, 1854, Chief Buffalo signed what would become known as the Treaty of 1854, also known as the Treaty of La Pointe.
With the Treaty, the Tribes retained their hunting, fishing and gathering rights, and the Bad River, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau, L’Anse with Lac Vieux Desert, Ontonagon and Red Cliff reservations were established.
The Treaty of 1854 also included a small tract of land that was set aside for Chief Buffalo and his family on the mainland at Miskwaabikong (red rocks or cliffs), now known as the Red Cliff reservation. The Bad River Tribe, then known as the La Pointe Band, received approximately 195 acres on Madeline Island, which the Tribe still owns today.
Visit the Madeline Island Museum for more information on the history of the Island.