Chief Pontiac

Chief Pontiac stood lookout on the top of Boston Mills Ski Resort before there were mechanical ski lifts and busy snow machines. Before the ground he stood on became a blue square called “Buttermilk.” Or maybe it’s at the top of the other blue square, “Peter’s Pride.” Buttermilk got icier and steeper over time and Peter’s Pride was snowboard territory. I’ve skied both and felt a unique presence on Peter’s Pride that I wasn’t alone. I would look over my shoulder for a friend that wasn’t there or feel the weak breath of a ghost fog up my goggles. Peter’s Pride seemed longer than the other runs. It was wide, long, and lonely. Both Peter’s Pride and Buttermilk are the highest points of the land. It made sense to me that it would be Ottawa Native American territory. If not there, was there any place in Northeastern Ohio that was better?

It was my mother who told me this. Once when I was young and forgetful and another time when I expressed my interest in the valley. I never found any article online backing up her story. She was told this story when she began teaching at Brecksville Middle School in the nineties by a senior teacher on a field trip. I soaked up and believed every word. There was something old and wise about the hills when they were naked for the summer season and not covered in people and snow. They were yellow from the wear of the winter with patches of sunny light green. It was very easy for me to picture Pontiac standing there, sturdy legs, and a valiant torso, watching for signs of the British. I could see it so well in my head that sometimes when I drove by, squinting, I could just make out his figure. 

Pontiac was half Ottawa and half Chippewa and born around 1720. Ottawa and other Native American tribes were pushed farther away from British settlement and ended up in Northeastern Ohio. Pontiac believed that British goods were evil and that their inventions infuriated the gods. He urged other Native Americans to keep their distance from them. But when the British became hungry for more land, Pontiac countered.  He fought hard for Ohio’s land with the help of other tribes. He was killed after surrendering to the British by another Native American. The murder had no clear reason at all. Was the murderer hired by the British? A different tribe wanting to weaken the Ottawa? Native Americans feeling wronged by Pontiac’s surrender? There wasn’t much information surrounding his life to determine anything concrete. And who would be left to document important events if all the English-speaking people were on the opposite side of the battle? How could the British have known about their enemy if they were too busy killing and kicking them out? I only have my mother’s stories to hold onto. I can only rely on word passed down from parents to children to know about the ground I stand on. I’ve learned the most about Ohio from my mother. 

“Pontiac.” Ohio History Central. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Pontiac 

Redmond, Brian, “American Indians.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/cuva/learn/kidsyouth/american-indians.htm 

“Chippewa Indians.” Ohio History Central. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Chippewa_Indians?rec=579