Q: How DO you pronounce Michilimackinac?
A: Here’s the short answer [so you won’t embarrass yourself in front of people who know]:
(MISH-ə-lə-MACK-ə-naw)
The area known to the Odawa Indians as Michilimackinac means “Big Turtle.” For them, Michilimackinac is the birthplace and center of the world. The Three Fires Confederacy (a long-standing alliance between the Ottawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi) took place there.
Two historic references:
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Henry Schoolcraft’s journal of Aug. 3, 1833
“The name of the place, as pronounced by the Indians, is Mich-en-e-mauk-in-ong. The ultimate syllable indicates locality. There is a strong accent on the fourth syllable.
“I asked the Indians the meaning of this term. They said the “old fort” stood on the apex of the peninsula, about three miles distant. The island, then bore its present name. It was deemed sacred. They thought it had always been inhabited by spirits. A kind of these, which it is thought may have tallied with our faries, is said to have been seen on its cliffs. They are called Mich-in-e-mauk-in-nok-oag. The last syllable of this term is a common one for plural. Whether the others have any relation to their name for a tortoise – Mik-e-nok is not clear, but probable. Mish is clearly the equivalent for ‘great.’”
Bishop Frederic Baraga
Bishop Baraga, who did missionary work among the Indians of the Upper Peninsula for many years, is an authority on the Chippewa tongue, having published, in 1878, A Grammar and Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language – Explained in English. Here are his entries:
In this photo by Matthew Brady, Bishop Baraga holds his Dictionary. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Page 165, Mackinaw or Mackinac, Makinang, Mishinimakinang.
Page 272, Turtle, makinak, or mikkinak.
Page 300, Michimakina (Otchip.) , from: misi-mikkinak , big turtle. Some pronounce: Michilmikki ak, whence the “Michelmakina” of the Canadian voyageurs.
André—and I—struggled:
In “Uncharted Waters,” Book 3, my character André hopes to stop at Michilimackinac, having heard tales from his foster father. But because his canoe is very late and heading into unknown waters, he knows he can’t make that choice.
Visiting there is still on my bucket list as well. Every time I wrote about the place, I struggled with the pronunciation. And I also puzzled over the fact that there seem to be 2 places with similar names. With occasionally different spellings.
What I learned is the modern pronunciation is the same — NAW — regardless of the spelling.
Now about the locations, both of which are great for history buffs and tourists:
- Michilimackinac is on the mainland, on the south side of the straits. It’s now called Colonial M…
- Fort Mackinac is on an island in Lake Huron.
The history lesson on Michilimackinac:
For eons, Native peoples camped at the Michilimackinac straits. For a hundred years, French voyageurs and traders used the site as a supply post and a primary stopping-off point between Montreal and the interior fur posts. Finally in 1715, French soldiers constructed a fort at Michilimackinac near the Odawa community and Jesuit mission on the south.
Peter Pond is one trader (one of my favorite journal writers because of his unconventional spelling) who used Michilimackinac as a depot in about 1755:
“I Cumplyed and we Lade in a cargo to the amount of four thousend Six Hundred Pounds & I went into the Entearor Part of the Cuntrey first to Mishlemackenack … thare was a Britsh Garason whare all the traders aSembel yearley to arang there afairs for the InSewing Winter”
With Great Britain and France — and the fledgling United States — constantly at war, the British took Michilimackinac from the French after the fall of New France in 1763. It remained a center for the fur trade.
When the war was over, the Ojibwa Indians who lived there resented the British takeover, finding the policies harsh, compared with those of the French.
- Fun Fact: In 1763, Alexander Henry, age 22, wanted to make a quick fortune, and tried to pass himself off as a French voyageur at Michilimackinac (using his guide as the actual trader) but the Natives quickly understood the ruse. The chief Minivavana terrified Henry with this speech:
“Englishman, you know that the French king is our father. He promised to be such; and we, in return promised to be his children … Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us! We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none. … Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, nor entered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are still at war.”
And the history lesson on Fort Mackinac:
Fort Mackinac (the island) was founded during the American Revolution.
Believing Fort Michilimackinac was vulnerable to American attack, the British moved the fort to Mackinac Island in 1780. What was not moved was burned.
The Americans took control of it in 1796, so the British built Fort St. Joseph [where André stops briefly in Book 3]. The British captured Fort Mackinac on July 17, 1812. It was returned to the United States after the war. The fort remained active until 1895. Eventually Mackinac Island was transformed into a major summer resort.
It’s a confusing history as it shifts back and forth to different governments. But you’re in luck — there won’t be a test.
Final Thoughts:
- Buy Book 1 “Waters Like the Sky” or Book 2 “Treacherous Waters” through PayPal. Or the ebook.
- Book 3, “Uncharted Waters” is now available, also as an ebook. FB message me, Venmo me.
- Subscribe to this blog and read posts as soon as they’re published.
- Visit me on Facebook or Instagram: Love your comments.
- Book me as a speaker.
- Ask your library, local school, gift shop to buy copies.
For further reading
- “Birchbark Brigade: A Fur Trade History” by Cris Peterson. Calkins Creek, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 2009).
- “Five Fur Traders of the Northwest,” Charles M. Gates, ed. Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minnesota, 1965). Includes the Narrative of Peter Pond
The overhead view shows the Straits of Mackinac with Lakes Michigan (left) and Huron (right). What is now Colonial Michilimackinac is on the mainland at the bottom whereas Fort Mackinac is the large island. The photo is from NASA-Johnson Space Center, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
I do not have pay pal but would like two of your new book. Kathy (Sparen) Vasil.
So interesting. Funny, growing up Detroit, we always pronounced Michilimackinac with the “ac” sound at the end while pronouncing Mackinac with the “aw” sound. But mainly I want to say thank you, Nikki, for your wonderful blog, and ask a question, below. I’m a descendant of a voyageur, too, and have learned so much from you. I came across your site after searching for clarification (don’t remember what it was now) but it was after finding the voyageur contract database on https://archivesshsb.mb.ca/ My own ancestor (Louis Majeau 1787-1853) worked for the North West Co. and later (or perhaps partly during that time) married an Ojibwe woman, whose name we’re told was Ikwe-wa-ni-gen-its. Her father, Na-ges-sis, was supposedly a chief (but no records have been found for him). This is from authors, Harold W. Moll and Norman G. Moll (Lewis and Batteese Mashue, Father and Son Through Fur and Saginaw Valley Timber). I was just thinking, if you ever need more inspiration for a story line, Louis’ is pretty interesting, though how much of the Moll Bros. story is accurate is in question. Definitely some of the family info is wrong, but in part, they were going off of interviews of descendants and neighbors, and of course, memories are not perfect. But, one question I’d like to ask you, Nikki – have you ever heard that there was a “uniform” worn by the engagés in the NWC? As, according to this family lore as set down by the Moll Bros., Louis had worn a “cinnamon coat with the brass buttons and the plume of the officials carrier” but the authors had never found any proof to this. All the best, and please keep up the great work! Anne
Thanks for your kind affirmation and amazing information. (My apologies for such a slow response). I looked for the Moll book but it’s definitely out of print and I’ll have to search for it through inter-library loan. It sounds like one I’d love to purchase.
About the uniform, I doubt that most engagés dressed in any uniform–they were too numerous for the NWC to clothe (though part of their wages included shirt and trousers).
But the “officials carrier” is something new to me. My best guess: that Louis performed a special service, like delivering important messages or the mail to other small posts, or back to the main post. Perhaps he did this each year, and for that obtained a better coat (cinnamon, no less!) with expensive and showy brass buttons!! The plume I’ve just written about (in my Aug. 1, 2024, blog), is the proof of being a winterer and therefore a person of substance. Louis apparently had several reasons to sport a feather in his cap.
Thanks again for this wonderful comment which leads me to other fascinating info and possibly a new story line.