Michilimackinac

Michilimackinac names Mackinac Island and the country around the straits joining Lakes Michigan and Huron. The narrow passage connects the upper Great Lakes and was controlled by Anishinaabe nations, including the Odawa and Ojibwe. The Odawa name means “Big Turtle”; the place holds a central position in Anishinaabe traditions and is associated with the Three Fires Confederacy.

Wendat networks first connected the Anishinaabe indirectly with French traders; direct exchange expanded after the fall of Huronia in the Beaver Wars. The French established a presence at St Ignace in 1683, and in 1715 built Fort Michilimackinac on the south side of the strait. Summer markets drew Indigenous traders from distant shores. In 1763, during Pontiac's War, Ojibwe forces captured the fort from the British, who reoccupied it the following year. Britain moved its post to Mackinac Island in 1780.