thelastdiadoch:THE NATIVE AMERICANSPORT OF BAAGA'ADOWE AND THE SIEGE OF FORT MICHILIMACKINAC (1763 C
thelastdiadoch:THE NATIVE AMERICANSPORT OF BAAGA'ADOWE AND THE SIEGE OF FORT MICHILIMACKINAC (1763 CE)This is an excerpt from my post: THE COUNCILOF THREE FIRES AND THE PONTIAC-GUYASUTA UPRISING.Lacrosse was influenced bythe Native American game of stickball that the Ojibwe (Chippewa) calledbaaga'adowe (“bump hips”). These games were played by manytribes throughout the Americas, usually taking part between villages in an openfield with trees or other natural features being used as goals. These gamescould include as many as a thousand people from neighboring villages, lastingfrom sunrise to sunset or even over several days. The balls were at first madeof wood and later were made from deerskin (leather) and filled with fur, thenetting of the sticks were made of deer sinews (tendons or ligaments).^ Fearedby His Opponents by Robert Griffing.In1636 a French Jesuit missionary named Jean de Brébeuf was the first European todocument the game being played by Huron Natives of the St. Lawrence Valley –henamed it lacrosse (crosse, “curved stick”). Though played for fun it wasalso a way to unite and bond tribes diplomatically or to settle disputes. Beingthat many of these tribes lived off of the land and depended on every man thatthey had, warfare was seen as an inconvenience. The design of the ‘lacrosse’ stickis said to be descendant of the war-club, its associations with war are evidentas the Natives Iroquoian Mohawks called it the “little brother of war”(begadwe) and the Cherokees called it the “little-war”(da-nah-wah'uwsdi).^ Ball-playDance by George Catlin.Thefaster players would mingle around the center of the field while the slowerones would dwell near the goals. The ball would be thrown into the air and oncecaught the wielder would sprint towards the opponent’s goal. The opposing teamwould strike at the stick to dislodge the ball; this would usually end ininjuring or even crippling and killing players. Players that took it seriouslywould go on diets and training regimens. Some of these ‘lacrosse’ sticks weredecorated and engraved to take on the look of animals or their features, suchas a snake or an eagle’s talon. A game so cherished that some players asked tobe buried with their ‘lacrosse’ sticks. Ceremonies would be celebrated beforethese games, items collected as part of the wager, and dances would performedboth before and after them. The participants were known to decorate theirbodies with paint, charcoal and bear-fat –though this may have been done forritualistic and religious purposes, there is also note of this being done so specificplayers could be more easily spotted among the large mob of participants.^ Ballplayers by George Catlin.^The Conspiracy - Fort Michilimackinac by Robert Griffing.During the Anglo-Indian conflict known as Pontiac’s War (1763–66 CE) theChippewa (Ojibwe) and Sauks are said to have planned to attack Fort Michilimackinac (British) two days before their king’s(George III) birthday, an event that the British were to celebrate with sportsand feasts. The Natives asked the Brits if they would allow them to entertainthem with a game of stick-ball, as the game went on the interest ofthe ‘Whites’ were increased, to the point of them placing down bets on theoutcome of the quarter or game. As the game raged on Native women made their way into Fort Michilimackinac under the guise of trading but inreality they were smuggling weapons into the fort.^ FortMichilimackinac and the game-field. Thetactic was going as planned, allowing them to get close to their fort withoutdrawing any suspicion. ^ TheWarriors Game by Robert Griffing. “Thewarriors appeared on the field with moccasined feet, and otherwise naked savefor breech-clothes. Hither and thither the ball was batter, thrown, andcarried. Player pursued player, tripping, slashing, shouldering each other, andshouting in their excitement as command of the ball passed with the fortunes ofthe game from the Chippewa to Sac and Sac to Chippewa.”Whenthe stickball game was at its height of excitement, a player tossed the ballnear the gate and the players rushed toward its direction. Once near the gatethe Native woman (squaws) that were watching the game threw open theirblankets, revealing tomahawks and knives. They quickly captured Captain GeorgeEtherington and Lieutenant Leslie that were stationed at the gate and took theminto the woods. The other natives rushed into the fort where more squaws(Native woman) had been planted earlier with concealed weapons. Armed withhatchets they swiftly killed and scalped Lieutenant Jamette and fifteen others,taking the other survivors prisoner. The French traders were left alone, butthe British ones were imprisoned and robbed. An Ojibwe (Chippewa)chief named Gitchi Naigou (French: Le Grand Sable) wasn’t present duringthe attack on Fort Michilimackinac but upon his arrival he murdered five of theBritish prisoners.^Bronze Statue at the US Lacrosse Museum and Hall of Fame in Baltimore.TheOttawas are said to not have been involved in the massacre at FortMichilimackinac and are also noted as being friendly towards the British,stopping their allies from continuing their slaughter of the prisoners. Theythen took Captain Etherington and Lieutenant Leslie away to the safety ofL’arbre Croche where they were treated respectfully and from which CaptainEtherington was able to send a report of the slaughter of Fort Michilimackinacto Major Henry Gladwin in Detroit, asking him for reinforcements and aid but heresponded that he was in no position to do so as much of his forces werealready spread thin. If there are any errors please privately inbox me so I can update it. As always, if you’d like to read or learn about any specific historical subjects just let me know what they are and I will take note of them.SEEALSO:THE COUNCILOF THREE FIRES AND THE PONTIAC-GUYASUTA UPRISING – Thispost covers some of the history, culture and religion of theNative American inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of North America,focusing on the Pontiac-Guyasuta Uprising andthe Council of Three Fires (the Ottawa, Ojibwe and thePotawatomi the peace-pipe, the Delaware prophets, Rogers’ Rangers, andsome Native battle tactics.THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY:THE “SAVAGE” EMPIRE – The origins of the IroquoisConfederacy, the early wars they were involvedin, the effects that disease epidemics incurredupon them, the Iroquoian cultural use of torture, scalping, and cannibalism,the tomahawk and its symbolism (bury the hatchet), aswell as the taking of captives during mourning wars and adopting them in order to replace lost tribalmembers.THE IROQUOISCONFEDERACY: THE RED ROMANS AND THE RED COATS –This post covers the religious beliefs of theIroquois Confederacy, their origin story, their belief in duality (like yin and yang), theirsecretive and mysterious masked societies,and their involvement in the conflicts between their two great colonialneighbors (New France and the New England) like the famed French and Indian War. I’ll also speak of theirinvolvement in the American Revolutionary War aswell as the famed Joseph Brant, a Freemason Mohawk leader who swayed most of the IroquoisConfederates into siding with the British. It is believed that without the aidof the Iroquois Confederacy, North America would now be speaking French insteadof English and that France would’ve held a massive portion of the eastern halfof North America, leaving a massive battlefield for the French and Spanish tobattle over. -- source link