Ottawa (people) - Definition and Overview

The Ottawa (also Odawa or Odaawa) are a Native American people. They are related to but distinct from the Ojibwe tribe. They lived near the northern shores of Lake Huron. There are approximately 15,000 Ottawa living in Michigan, Ontario, and Oklahoma. The Ottawa language is part of the Algonquian language family.

Like the Ojibwe, the Ottawa usually referred to themselves as Anishinaabe (plural: Anishinabek), meaning original people.

The Ottawa and Ojibwe were part of a long term alliance with the Potawatomi tribe, called the Council of Three Fires and which fought with the Iroquois Confederacy and the Sioux. The Ottawa allied with the French against the British and the Ottawa Chief Pontiac led a rebellion against the British in 1763.

Odawa Communities

• Walpole Island, on unceded territory between the Ontario and Michigan
• Ottawa Tribe (Oklahoma)
• Grand River Bands, Michigan
• Burt Lake Band, Michigan