Native Americans have profoundly shaped the Canton/Plymouth area, from how we came to be and where we placed major roads to the names we attribute to area spaces.
November is National Native American Heritage Month, making it the perfect time to acknowledge how their history is essential for understanding local origins and recognizing ongoing contributions.
In 2019, the Canton Township board officially read this into the minutes: “Canton Township recognizes the presence of the three major groups in Michigan today, the Chippewa, Ottawa and Potawatomi, who have lived upon this land since time immemorial, and values the progress our society has accomplished through Native American thought and culture.”
In the Beginning
The land we live and work on once belonged to several Native American tribes. On November 17, 1807, the land that comprises Canton Township was ceded to the United States through the Treaty of Detroit, signed with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi nations. Plymouth was ceded by similar treaties with the Potawatomi bands during the 1820s when European settlement began.
Even its formation as a state was influenced by Native American culture. The name Michigan comes from the Algonquin word Michigama, which means “great water.”
Also, Canton Township’s long-standing legacy as the “Sweet Corn Capital” of Michigan owes much to the Anishinaabe people’s domestication and cultivation of wild corn, introducing staple crops that have remained a part of the local agricultural economy. While we have since transformed into a thriving residential and commercial community, our history as a farming center and the Sweet Corn Capital remains a point of local pride and a key part of Canton’s heritage.
How Trails Became Highways
The routes of many major modern roads and highways can be attributed to the paths that were once Native American trails.
Detroit was a hub in a network of paths that spread across the continent long before Europeans arrived. These trails were originally narrow, single-file passageways created by the trampled earth of paths most frequently traveled.
Once Europeans settled into the area, they found those trails to still be the best way to travel between settlements. They continued to utilize, maintain and eventually widen them.
The Great Sauk Trail is one such trail. It ran on the Mississippi River from Detroit to Rock Island, Illinois. Originally a migratory route for Native Americans, it later became a road for west-bound settlers and a frequent passage of the Underground Railroad. It eventually became part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway. Locally, it runs through the southern portion of Canton, now known as Michigan Avenue.
The Zibiwés Nature Area
On May 23, 2023, Canton Township officials announced that the Zibiwés Nature Area was established in the area formerly known as Patriot Park.
As part of their commitment to pay homage to the previous land inhabitants, trustee members collaborated with the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians Outreach Board on name recommendations and acquiring cultural and heritage resources and information.
The Zibiwés Nature Area preserves and protects the open space, natural habitats and green space of the 134 acres of undeveloped woodlands and wetlands that are home to many native plants and animal habitats. The name Zibiwés means creek, which is appropriate since Fellows Creek runs through the entire park.
These are just a few ways that our area has been impacted by Native American culture, language and history. To learn more, stop by the library and check out our resources for Native American Heritage Month.
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