Michel Cadotte
Encyclopedia
Michel Cadotte 1764-1837 (also spelled Michael, Cadott, Cadeau, and other variations) or (Ojibwe: Kechemeshane (or Gichi-miishen in the contemporary spelling) "Great Michel") was a Métis
fur trader who dominated business in the area of the south shore of Lake Superior. He gained a strategic alliance through marriage into the Owaazsii clan of the Anishinaabeg. His post at La Pointe
on Madeline Island
was a critical center for the trade between the Lake Superior Ojibwe and the British
and American
trading companies.
father and an Anishinaabe
mother in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
. He had an older brother and grew up with his mother's people. His paternal grandfather, a man named Cadeau, had come to Lake Superior
in the late 17th century on a French exploratory mission. His father, Jean Baptiste Cadotte Sr., became a fur trader for French and later British interests in and around the eastern end of Lake Superior. His mother was a member of the powerful Owaazsii (Bullhead) clan of the Anishinaabeg. She is frequently described in historic records as having high status in the region and as being an exceptionally kind person. She was a Roman Catholic convert whose French name was likely Marianne or Anastasia. His parents sent Michel and his brother John Baptiste Jr. to Montreal
for their education in French Catholic schools.
after Great Britain's victory in the Seven Years War. His career peaked toward the later decades of the great fur trade; many traders of Métis
heritage were prominent in the Great Lakes area on behalf of British and American companies.
His father pressed westward as a trader along the south shore of Lake Superior; Cadotte Sr. set up a trading post on Mooningwanekaaning
, an island in Chequamegon Bay
in modern-day Wisconsin
. The island, the traditional center of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, had been the site of a previous French post. As Michel reached adulthood, he traveled west with his father and older brother Jean Baptiste Jr. (more often called John Baptiste Cadotte).
Jean Baptiste Sr. retired in 1796 and left his holdings to his sons. John Baptiste Jr. explored westward to Fond du Lac
and later to Red Lake
in present-day Minnesota
. Michel settled at La Pointe
.
of the Anishinaabe
. This was an advantageous marriage, as the Cranes were the hereditary chief
s of the Lake Superior band. Cadotte became the lead trader on the south shore of Lake Superior, and would remain so for decades. Similarly, the head of the White Crane clan believed it advantageous to have a strong alliance with the fur trader through his daughter's marriage. Ikwesewe and Cadotte had several children. Two of their daughters married American men who were brothers: Lyman and Truman Warren.
and later the American Fur Company
, Cadotte built a trading empire throughout northern Wisconsin. He established outposts at the head of the Chippewa River
, and at Lac Courte Oreilles.
Cadotte and his brother John Baptiste were generous and well-liked; they proved instrumental in brokering peace and commerce in the region. Literate, and able to speak fluent Ojibwe, English, and French, Cadotte often acted as an intermediary between the Ojibwe and the governments of Canada and the United States. He held considerable political influence, for example, persuading most of the Lake Superior Ojibwe to stay out of Tecumseh's Rebellion.
Cadotte retired in 1823 and left his business to his two American sons-in-law, the brothers Lyman and Truman Warren. He died on July 8, 1837, and was buried at La Pointe.
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
fur trader who dominated business in the area of the south shore of Lake Superior. He gained a strategic alliance through marriage into the Owaazsii clan of the Anishinaabeg. His post at La Pointe
La Pointe, Wisconsin
La Pointe is a town in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The town includes all of the Apostle Islands. There is also an unincorporated community named La Pointe on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands . The population was 246 at the 2000 census...
on Madeline Island
Madeline Island
Madeline Island is an island of the U.S. state of Wisconsin located in Lake Superior approximately two miles northeast of Bayfield, Wisconsin, and connected to that town seasonally by a 20 minute ferry ride or an ice road. It is the largest of the Apostle Islands, although it is not included...
was a critical center for the trade between the Lake Superior Ojibwe and the British
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trading companies.
Early life and education
Cadotte was born July 22, 1764 to a FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
father and an Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
mother in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
. He had an older brother and grew up with his mother's people. His paternal grandfather, a man named Cadeau, had come to Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
in the late 17th century on a French exploratory mission. His father, Jean Baptiste Cadotte Sr., became a fur trader for French and later British interests in and around the eastern end of Lake Superior. His mother was a member of the powerful Owaazsii (Bullhead) clan of the Anishinaabeg. She is frequently described in historic records as having high status in the region and as being an exceptionally kind person. She was a Roman Catholic convert whose French name was likely Marianne or Anastasia. His parents sent Michel and his brother John Baptiste Jr. to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
for their education in French Catholic schools.
Career
Half French, Cadotte was born just after the collapse of New FranceNew France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
after Great Britain's victory in the Seven Years War. His career peaked toward the later decades of the great fur trade; many traders of Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
heritage were prominent in the Great Lakes area on behalf of British and American companies.
His father pressed westward as a trader along the south shore of Lake Superior; Cadotte Sr. set up a trading post on Mooningwanekaaning
Madeline Island
Madeline Island is an island of the U.S. state of Wisconsin located in Lake Superior approximately two miles northeast of Bayfield, Wisconsin, and connected to that town seasonally by a 20 minute ferry ride or an ice road. It is the largest of the Apostle Islands, although it is not included...
, an island in Chequamegon Bay
Chequamegon Bay
Chequamegon Bay is an inlet of Lake Superior, NE-SW and 2- wide, in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. It lies largely inside the barrier of Chequamegon Point and Long Island, with the Bad River Indian Reservation to the east. Ashland, Wisconsin is on its...
in modern-day Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The island, the traditional center of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, had been the site of a previous French post. As Michel reached adulthood, he traveled west with his father and older brother Jean Baptiste Jr. (more often called John Baptiste Cadotte).
Jean Baptiste Sr. retired in 1796 and left his holdings to his sons. John Baptiste Jr. explored westward to Fond du Lac
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
and later to Red Lake
Red Lake, Minnesota
There is also a Red Lake County in Minnesota.Red Lake is a census-designated place within the Lower Red Lake unorganized territory located in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2000 census, Red Lake had a total population of 1,436...
in present-day Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Michel settled at La Pointe
La Pointe, Wisconsin
La Pointe is a town in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The town includes all of the Apostle Islands. There is also an unincorporated community named La Pointe on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands . The population was 246 at the 2000 census...
.
Marriage and family
At La Pointe, Cadotte married Ikwesewe, the daughter of the head of the White Crane clanAnishinaabe clan system
The Anishinaabe, like most Algonquian-speaking groups in North America, base their system of kinship on patrilineal clans or totems. The Anishinaabe word for clan was borrowed into English as totem. The clans, based mainly on animals, were instrumental in traditional occupations, inter-tribal...
of the Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
. This was an advantageous marriage, as the Cranes were the hereditary chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
s of the Lake Superior band. Cadotte became the lead trader on the south shore of Lake Superior, and would remain so for decades. Similarly, the head of the White Crane clan believed it advantageous to have a strong alliance with the fur trader through his daughter's marriage. Ikwesewe and Cadotte had several children. Two of their daughters married American men who were brothers: Lyman and Truman Warren.
Career
Working for the British North West CompanyNorth West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
and later the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
, Cadotte built a trading empire throughout northern Wisconsin. He established outposts at the head of the Chippewa River
Chippewa River (Wisconsin)
The Chippewa River in Wisconsin flows approximately 183 miles through west-central and northwestern Wisconsin. It was once navigable for approximately 50 miles of its length, from the Mississippi River, by Durand, northeast to Eau Claire. Its catchment defines a portion of the northern boundary...
, and at Lac Courte Oreilles.
Cadotte and his brother John Baptiste were generous and well-liked; they proved instrumental in brokering peace and commerce in the region. Literate, and able to speak fluent Ojibwe, English, and French, Cadotte often acted as an intermediary between the Ojibwe and the governments of Canada and the United States. He held considerable political influence, for example, persuading most of the Lake Superior Ojibwe to stay out of Tecumseh's Rebellion.
Cadotte retired in 1823 and left his business to his two American sons-in-law, the brothers Lyman and Truman Warren. He died on July 8, 1837, and was buried at La Pointe.
Legacy and honors
- Mooningwanekaaning Island, designated Ile St. Michel by the French in the 17th century, became more widely known as Michael's Island, after Cadotte, during the 19th and into the early 20th century.
- Since then, the island has become associated with his wife Ikwesewe, who lived into her nineties. Her Catholic saintSaintA saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
's name was Madeline, for whom the islandMadeline IslandMadeline Island is an island of the U.S. state of Wisconsin located in Lake Superior approximately two miles northeast of Bayfield, Wisconsin, and connected to that town seasonally by a 20 minute ferry ride or an ice road. It is the largest of the Apostle Islands, although it is not included...
is named. - Cadott, WisconsinCadott, WisconsinCadott is a village in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,345 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally named "Cadotte Falls", It was founded in 1875 by Robert Marriner a Pinoeer Enterpriser. Marriner named it after Jean Baptiste Cadotte, son of French Canadian fur...
in Chippewa County, WisconsinChippewa County, WisconsinChippewa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,195. Its county seat is Chippewa Falls. The United States Census Bureau's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Chippewa County...
was named for him. - A grandson of the Cadottes, William Whipple WarrenWilliam Whipple WarrenWilliam Whipple Warren was a mixed-blood Ojibwe historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. He moved from Wisconsin to Crow Wing in the fall of 1845. Warren suffered from lung problems for many years and died as a young man of 28 from tuberculosis on June 1, 1853.-Early life...
, was also born in La Pointe. A native speaker of Ojibwe, he was elected as a legislator from Minnesota TerritoryMinnesota TerritoryThe Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota.-History:...
during the 1850s. He wrote a comprehensive chronicle of Ojibwe history. - The Cadottes have numerous living descendants throughout Ojibwe Country, especially in the Red CliffRed Cliff, WisconsinRed Cliff, also known as Miskwabiikong, is an unincorporated community in the town of Russell, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. Red Cliff is the administrative center of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa...
area.
See also
- Chief Buffalo
- Charles Michel de LangladeCharles Michel de LangladeCharles Michel de Langlade was a Great Lakes fur trader of French Canadian and Ottawa heritage. His father was Augustin Langlade; his mother, Domitilde, was a sister of Ottawa war chief Nissowaquet...
- Pierre Grignon
- Alexander Henry