Students crossing State Street in front of the Michigan Union on the Ann Arbor campus, 1947
Group 26 i
State Street in front of Michigan Union, 1947
Event
A detail photo of the Treaty of Fort Meigs that shows part of Article 16. The text, handwritten in cursive, says, "Article 16: Some of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomy tribes, being attached to the Catholic religion, and believing they may wish some of their children hereafter educated, do grant to the rector of the Catholic church of St. Anne of Detroit, for the use of the said church, and to the corporation of the college at Detroit, for the use of the said college, to be retained or sold, as the said rector and corporation may judge expedient, each, one half of three sections of land, to contain six hundred and forty acres, on the river Raisin, at a place called Macon and three sections of land not yet located, which tracts were reserved, for the use of the said Indians, by the treaty of Detroit, in one thousand eight hundred and seven; and the superintendent of Indian affairs, in the territory of Michigan, is authorized, on the part of the said Indians, to select the said tracts of land."
In-Person & Virtual

Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference

Join us April 9-11, 2026, for Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States. This conference will explore the role of treaties in the development of both the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, while considering how their effects continue to resonate locally, regionally, and nationally today for an Indigenous present and future.

The conference will bring together members of Anishinaabe Tribal communities; U-M faculty, staff, and students; K-12 educators; scholars; tribal historians; and community activists for roundtable discussions, panels, and workshops that aim to inform and connect with non-specialist audiences.

Conference sessions will focus on key themes that include the role of treaties in the founding and development of the University of Michigan, such as the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs; the ongoing impact of 19th-century treaty agreements on tribal communities in the region; and the ways in which these treaties continue to shape contemporary Native activism and legal efforts. Discussions will also explore the broader histories of colonization and Indigenous dispossession across what is now the state of Michigan and the Midwest region of the U.S, with an eye to how local and regional histories provide valuable insights into broader national patterns.

The conference is free and open to all, and will be livestreamed and recorded. Registration will open in late fall 2025.

The Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference is part of The 1817 Project: Land, Culture, Memory, and Repair, one of the major research initiatives of the University of Michigan’s Inclusive History Project. Led by Eric Hemenway, Bethany Hughes, and Michael Witgen, The 1817 Project is a multi-disciplinary examination of the foundational land transfer by the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Boodewaadamii nations in the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs (also known as the Treaty of the Maumee Rapids), which was part of the University of Michigan’s 1817 origins in Detroit and subsequent relocation to Ann Arbor, as well the university’s ongoing connections to Indigenous land and contemporary issues of Native American student experience. Learn more about The 1817 Project.

Questions? Email [email protected].

The Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference is presented by the Inclusive History Project in partnership with the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies (EIHS).