Sandy Lake Tragedy: Too Long Forgotten, A Delayed Commemoration

Abstract

The Sandy Lake tragedy was essentially a Chippewa Trail of tears, when the attempted forced removal of Ojibwe Indians from Upper Michigan and Wisconsin were sent to Sandy Lake Minnesota to collect their annuity payments leading to the deaths of some 400 Ojibwe men women and children. This event that long went without Commemoration. For 150 years it went forgotten by many, and is still not something widely discussed or known about today. This paper outlines the history of the McGregor lakes region, the treaties that transpired before and after the tragedy, and the tragedy itself. Through a description of the memorial and interviews of both white and Native American cultural groups, this paper analyzes sentiments towards the memorial, the history of the event, and the general public’s knowledge of what happened there prior to the memorial.