Seasons of Change: Labor, Treaty Rights, and Ojibwe Nationhood

by Chantal Norrgard

From the 1870s to the 1930s, the Lake Superior Ojibwes of Minnesota and Wisconsin faced dramatic economic, political, and social changes. Examining a period that began with the tribe's removal to reservations and closed with the Indian New Deal, Chantal Norrgard explores the critical link between Ojibwes' efforts to maintain their tribal sovereignty and their labor traditions and practices. As Norrgard explains, the tribe's "seasonal round" of subsistence-based labor was integral to its survival and identity. Though encroaching white settlement challenged these labor practices, Ojibwe people negotiated treaties that protected their rights to make a living by hunting, fishing, and berrying and through work in the fur trade, the lumber industry, and tourism. Norrgard shows how the tribe strategically used treaty rights claims over time to uphold its right to work and to maintain the rhythm and texture of traditional Ojibwe life.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, including New Deal–era interviews with Ojibwe people, Norrgard demonstrates that while American expansion curtailed the Ojibwes' land base and sovereignty, the tribe nevertheless used treaty-protected labor to sustain its lifeways and meet economic and political needs--a process of self-determination that continues today.

Genres: American History, Nonfiction, History

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2014

Reviews

[Ai Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good, important book. Norrgard does an incredible job of weaving Ojibwe meanings of labor with the way that labor functioned as an exercise of sovereignty, and it really hammers home the point in an incredible way. The way she navigates labor history is so deft and incredible, and her careful commitment to the stories she tells is just so admirable. This is an incredible book and I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to see an incredible example of Native labor history.

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

The argument Norrgard makes is strong and backed well with good evidence. It’s interesting to see a different perspective of labor in American history and what it meant to the Ojibwe people, being a group attempting to maintain their sovereignty and cultural traditions while dealing with the changes made to their labor caused by treaties, colonialism, and capitalism. It was uplifting and heartbreaking in so many ways to learn about their labor history.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will finish this eventually - it is very informative and not hard to read. However, I have run out of time for it now as I'm starting another master's degree tomorrow and will have to set aside 'personal interest' reading for a while. Since this book is on interlibrary loan, it will have to go back.