The Ojibwa were relatively friendly toward the French, who frequently visited their region during the 17th and early 18th centuries. In the 1700s, following the decline of Iroquois power, the Ojibwa and their kinsmen, the Mississaugas, moved southward towards Lake Ontario. After the British conquest of Canada, the Ojibwa maintained good terms with the British administration. The Ojibwa peoples were highly regarded by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe.
In 1818, several Ojibwa chiefs including Musquakie gave up 1,592,000 acres (644,261 hectares) of land in the Georgian Bay/Lake Simcoe area to the Crown in exchange for a perpetual annuity. The Ojibwa continued to use their hunting grounds around Lake Simcoe after the treaty until in 1830 Sir John Colborne, disturbed by their migratory life, set aside lands for them at The Narrows (Orillia) and persuaded them to settle there.
A few years later, Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head anxious to remove the Indigenous Peoples from areas which were now being claimed by white settlers, persuaded the Ojibwas at The Narrows and at Coldwater to surrender their lands and move to a reserve in the Rama-Longford Mills region.
In the summer of 1839 Musquakie and his band settled on the reserve in Rama Township, with other bands also establishing themselves in the same region. In the following years, Musquakie successfully renewed the Ojibwa friendship treaty with the Six Nations. A devout Christian, he was highly respected and admired by all who knew him. It was largely through his efforts and those of his father that the loyalty of the Ojibwa to the British Crown was preserved. When he died in 1864, he was buried in the churchyard at St. James’ Orillia, Anglican Church.
To seek this cache:
Begin at the given coordinates - you will find a brass plaque with information on Chief Musquakie.
Solve the final coordinates using the following information from the plaque:
N44 3A.B1C W079 C5.CDE
- A = the second digit of the year Musquakie was named Chief of the Deer Tribe
- B = the third digit of the year Musquakie was named Chief of the Deer Tribe
- C = the final digit of the war in which Musquakie served
- D = the final digit of the year Musquakie settled with his band at Orillia
- E = the second digit of the year Musquakie was born
This cache has been placed as part of a joint effort between The City of Orillia Active Transportation Committee and the Parks and Recreation department.