Tribe commemorates war, opens exhibit
About 20 members of the Odawa Indians from northern Michigan joined the National Park Service in Farmington Saturday in commemorating the 256th anniversary of the battle of Fort Necessity, an encounter that launched the French and Indian War. “It’s an honor to be here, to make a journey similar to the journey our warriors made so many years ago,” said Frank Ettawageshik, past tribal chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, during a late morning ceremony at the interpretive center.
The Odawa came to open an exhibit called “A Zhimaagnishak Miikaanhs: The Odawa Warriors’ Journey.” The yearlong exhibit is on display in the interpretive center and tells the story of how a young Odawa man journeying to Fort Necessity became a warrior through lessons taught in his village. It also showcases traditional Odawa culture that is still practiced today.
The exhibit includes artifacts on loan from the Odawa and Fort Michilimackinac State Park in Michigan as well as pieces from Fort Necessity’s collection. The artifacts are in display cases in the front lobby of the interpretive center, as well as in the exhibit hall. They include an original French musket, trade gun parts, village items and Odawa artwork such as quill boxes, ash baskets and pottery. A mannequin also shows how an Odawa warrior from the mid-18th century would have dressed.
Joanne Hanley, superintendent of Western Pennsylvania Parks, welcomed the Odawa to Fort Necessity during the opening ceremony and told the public that the exhibit “gives our visitors an opportunity to expand their understanding of the Odawa, not only who they were in 1754 but who they are today.”
Ettawageshik said the Odawa are taught to think of the future when doing something of great importance – to consider the consequences of their action through a period of seven generations.
He said, “Those things we do in our lives – we don’t know how important they will be to the future. We must live each day to the fullest and make proper choices to make a better world.”
For the past two years, the Odawa has been working with the National Park Service to present their story at Fort Necessity. This is part of a long-range plan for interpretation by the park service that includes consulting with any Indian nations that are federally recognized. The park service has been telling the story of the French and Indian War at Fort Necessity for years with interpretation of the British, French and Indian points of view. But this new effort is asking Indian nations for their input.
Chip Nelson, unit manager for the National Park Service, served as master of ceremonies for the opening ceremony and gave a welcome. Earlier, he said that “understanding the different perspective has been eye opening.”
Local artist Fred Threlfall, who has worked as a seasonal park ranger at Fort Necessity, created a new map of the region in 1754 that is now part of the permanent exhibit at the interpretive center. The new map properly identifies the different Indian nations who were part of the battle of Fort Necessity. Threlfall unviewed the map along with Ettawageshik, Hanley and Eric Hemmenway, cultural preservation assistant of the Odawa.
Artist Robert Griffing of Gibsonia also appeared at the event, bringing two new paintings for display on Saturday only that feature the Odawa in the 18th century. They are called “Through the Straits of Mackinac” and “Odawa Flotilla.” Both Threlfall and Griffing met with the public for print and book signings.
But prints of Griffing’s painting series that feature the 1755 ill-fated campaign of British General Edward Braddock are remaining on display at the interpretive center along with the Odawa exhibit. Braddock died from wounds suffered in the battle of the Monongahela and is buried nearby at a site that is part of the Fort Necessity National Battlefield.
“I think it’s a great event,” Griffing, who is known for his paintings of American Indians from this time period, said of the Odawa exhibit and events. “I hope it succeeds. I would like to see more.”
Members of the Odawa sang and played drums during the opening. A traditional Odawa feast that included corn soup, dried squash, trail mix and sweet water, followed the opening ceremony.
Hemenway gave a presentation on the Odawa warrior, explaining, “The image of a warrior is someone who is painted, dressed in special garb, and going on a war path with the uncertainty of coming back. This is true. But there is a bigger picture. A warrior is someone who protected and provided for his community.”
Hemenway noted that Odawa have participated in many battles through the years that are part of American history, including the War of 1812, the Civil War and current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Odawa artisans gave cultural demonstrations throughout the afternoon, including Frank Ettawageshik, pottery; Yvonne Walker-Keshick, quillwork; Renee Wasson Dillard and Edward Peterson, black ash baskets; Audrey Atkinson, finger weaving and Rochelle Ettawageshik, beadwork.
Winnay Wemigwase, cultural preservation director of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa, said the Odawa artists enjoy being together and sharing their crafts.
“We look at it as gifts given to us by our ancestors,” she said.
Wemigwase also noted that many Odawa youths were learning the story of Fort Necessity from this experience. Park ranger Mary Jane McFadden traveled to Michigan to explain what happened at Fort Necessity and more Odawa learned the story when they made this visit.
At the afternoon memorial program to mark the battle’s anniversary, Frank Ettawageshik played a drum and sang a song for all the warriors who died at Fort Necessity as well as all the veterans who were present and those who are fighting for the United States today.
Park ranger Brian Reedy explained the history and significance of the battle to the public who gathered under trees near the fort. He noted that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the French and Indian War as the first global conflict. It spread to Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and ended in the Philippines.
“Nearly a million people died in the war,” he said.
Reedy then read a roll call of those known dead at Jumonville Glen, Braddock’s Grave and Fort Necessity, all sections of Fort Necessity National Battlefield. Park service staff ended the program with an artillery demonstration.
Park officials were pleased with the day, including good weather and an interested crowd of visitors.
The Odawa presentations proved compelling and added to the Fort Necessity story.
Hanley said, “It’s a great reminder to all of us of the diversity of our nation and our connection to other cultures that also share our heritage and country.”
More information is available online at www.nps.gov/fone or at www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov.