Pelee Island

Pelee Island lies in western Lake Erie, where islands and nearby shores create routes across one of the Great Lakes' southern basins. Fish, birds, and other resources supported Indigenous use of the wider lake country, while canoe travel connected communities on different shores. The relatively open waters could become dangerous in storms, making knowledge of weather and landing places essential. Islands served as stopping points within journeys rather than existing apart from surrounding human networks.

Archaeological finds attest to Indigenous occupation long before European settlement. In 1788 Thomas McKee received a purported long lease of the island from Ojibwa and Odawa people; its validity was later disputed. William McCormick's family settled permanently on the island in 1834. These events belong to a longer and contested history of Indigenous land rights and colonial claims around Lake Erie.