New Gnadenhutten, Moravian Missionaries, and Ojibwe Land Tenure on the Clinton River, 1781–1787

Abstract

This article reveals how Lake St. Clair Ojibwe communities limited newcomer encroachment and maintained territorial sovereignty by strategically absorbing and then expelling a community of Moravian missionaries and Christian Lenape. In 1782 the Ojibwe allowed Moravians to settle in a liminal Ojibwe hunting territory on the Clinton River. Over five years the settlement expanded, with conflict and cooperation defining Moravian engagement with Ojibwe land tenure and interactions with surrounding communities. Through oratory and formal and informal social practices like verbal warnings, threats, and intimidation, the Ojibwe mediated disputes, regulated Moravian use of land and resources, and attempted to curtail environmental destruction. This article reveals how the Moravian community encountered and experienced Ojibwe land tenure practices, the consequences of transgressing Ojibwe law, and how Ojibwe communities resisted encroachment on traditional lands and territories.