Chief Pontiac was born around 1720 and became chief of the
Ottawas around 1755. He was a follower of the Delaware prophet,
Neolin, who encouraged all Native people to forsake all things
English. He thought that the Natives suffered because their
acceptance of English ways offended the Creator.
Pontiac believed that the Native
people needed to remain militarily strong to rid the Ohio
country of settlers. The
Treaty of Paris, signed at the conclusion of the French and
Indian War, ceded all French land in North America to the
English. In 1762, Pontiac gathered all of the local tribes
to drive out the British. This was called "Pontiac's
Conspiracy." His plan to attack Fort Detroit was betrayed.
Later he attacked the fort and won the Battle of Bloody Run,
but reinforcements came and Pontiac retreated. The tribes
captured eight of the 12 British forts on the frontier between
the settlers and the Native people.
By 1764 the French no longer supported the Natives and sided
with the British. Pontiac agreed to a peace treaty in 1766.
The British promised him no harm as long as he agreed never
to fight the British again. Pontiac was murdered by a Peora
Indian while visiting Kahokia, Illinois in 1769. Pontiac's
dream of a united Indian nation was carried on by other Native
American leaders after his death.
Resources
Pontiac Ohio History Central
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=306
Chief Pontiac's Siege of Detroit
http://www.detnews.com/history/pontiac/pontiac.htm
