The 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs and the University of Michigan: How Indigenous Land Became Institutional Property
Inclusive History Project
To formally take possession of the 1,920 acres of Anishinaabe land granted in Article 16 of the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs, the University of Michigan’s leaders had to operate within a property system established by the Continental Congress in the 1780s. The 1817 Project research team created an ArcGIS StoryMap to show how this system was implemented across the Michigan Territory, document its consequences for the area’s Indigenous people, and present a case study of its application to 640 acres of U-M’s land in Farmington, MI.
This is the second of several resources the 1817 Project will publish to increase awareness of the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs and its relationship to the development of the University of Michigan.
Image: Minutes, Trustees of the University of Michigan, 1821-1837. Board of Regents (University of Michigan) records, 1817-2016 (majority within 1899-2016). Bentley Historical Library.
