| Pontiac is a chief of the Ottawa tribe of North | | | | gearing up for war by 1761, when the Ohio County |
| American Indians. He was famous for inciting the | | | | Seneca tribes distributed war belts among the tribes |
| Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763. It was a rebellion | | | | as a sign of war. However, a quick council organized |
| participated by several North American Indian tribes | | | | by Sir William averted the war for about 2 years. |
| against the British government and settlers in the | | | | Pontiac surprised the British on May 9, 1763 by laying |
| Great Lakes region, in which the state of Ohio - - is | | | | siege to Fort Detroit, with a force of composed of |
| located. The rebellion followed closely after the British | | | | warriors from the Ottawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi and |
| victory over the French in the French and Indian War | | | | Huron tribes. The attack was well-planned. Pontiac |
| waged from 1764-1763. Pontiac was a politically | | | | and 50 Ottawa Indians paid a visit to the fort with |
| powerful Indian leader, a fact that led to his murder a | | | | the intention of finding out how strong the garrison's |
| few years after the Pontiac's Rebellion was ended | | | | defenses are. The siege was bloody. All British forces |
| through a dialogue with the British officials. Early Life | | | | that ventured out of the garrison were killed by |
| Nobody knows any concrete information regarding | | | | Pontiac's forces, which by then were augmented by |
| the early years of this Indian chief. There have been | | | | more than 900 warriors from other tribes. The British |
| no records of the actual year of his birth, and | | | | attempted a surprise attack, but were routed and |
| historians theorize that he may have been born | | | | defeated at the Battle of Bloody Run on July 31, |
| between 1712 to 1725. No one even knows to which | | | | 1763. Despite a good start, Pontiac's siege of Fort |
| tribes his mother and father may have belonged, | | | | Detroit was a stalemate which led him to remove his |
| although his contemporaries point to him as belonging | | | | forces to the Maumee River. Other Indian attacks |
| to the Ottawa tribe. Tradition, however, holds that | | | | were more successful, as a total of eight British forts |
| Pontiac was born to an Ottawa father and an Ojibwa | | | | were taken. Five small forts were captured during |
| mother. Yet another tradition points to a mother of | | | | the period from May 16, 1763 until June 2, 1763. |
| Miami tribal affiliation. Pontiac was first recorded in | | | | Pontiac's failure to capture Fort Detroit may have |
| history during the rebellion led by Nicholas Orontony in | | | | been the reason for his influence to lessen among his |
| 1747 against the French settlers of New France. | | | | followers, although he continued to inspire militant |
| Pontiac fought for the French, something he would | | | | resistance among the tribes. Making Peace With the |
| continue to do until 1763, when the French were | | | | British and Final Days The British considered Pontiac |
| defeated by the British in the French and Indian war. | | | | as a troublemaker, a fact which prompted a |
| A Prelude to the Rebellion The British victory resulted | | | | negotiation with Sir Johnson as negotiator. Pontiac |
| in Britain's dominance over the Great Lakes region. In | | | | formally ended hostilities with the British on July 25, |
| contrast with the French policy of assimilating the | | | | 1766 in Oswego, New York after a time of |
| North American Indian tribes living in the area, the | | | | negotiations. Pontiac decided to assert influence over |
| British proceeded to subjugate the Indians. The new | | | | the American Indians in his region. It is said that the |
| policies that Britain imposed over the conquered | | | | way the British government gave him attention had |
| Indians led to dissatisfaction over the tribes, which | | | | given the courage to do so. Because of that, he was |
| ultimately led to the rebellion. It was the policy | | | | met with several opponents among his fellow |
| imposed by General Jeffrey Amherst, the British | | | | American Indians. Pontiac was kicked out of his |
| commander-in-chief of the North American theater, in | | | | Ottawa village in the Maumee River, which led him to |
| 1761 that stopped or reduced the amounts of gifts | | | | return to Illinois Country. Pontiac was murdered by a |
| that the British provided the Indians. It was an | | | | Peoria Indian on April 20, 1769. There are no concrete |
| important policy that led to alliances with the French | | | | reasons for the murder, but the widely accepted |
| and a symbolic American Indian custom, so the policy | | | | theory was that it was done in retaliation for |
| led several American Indian tribes of the region to | | | | previous actions by Pontiac against the Peorians. |
| consider it as an insult towards them. Amherst also | | | | Nevertheless, Pontiac is well-remembered in American |
| reduced the trade quota of ammunition and | | | | history. A city in Michigan bears his name, as well as a |
| gunpowder towards Indian customers. Amherst | | | | city in both Illinois and Quebec. Although several |
| wanted to prevent another rebellion after the | | | | historians do not count Pontiac as an overall |
| Cherokee rebelled the same year, believing that the | | | | mastermind and leader of the rebellion, they all |
| Indians might not rise up against the British if they | | | | acknowledge that it was Pontiac's ambition and daring |
| had insufficient gunpowder available. The Indians, | | | | that gave him more prominence during the war |
| however, thought that the British were preparing to | | | | compared to other Indian tribe leaders. |
| wage upon them by cutting off their gunpowder | | | | Attila Z Jancsina is a freelance copy writer. He |
| supplies. Fort Detroit: The Outbreak of the War | | | | occasionally writes for Ohio Real Estate FSBO. |
| American Indians in the New France area were | | | | Website offers Free FSBO advertisement. |