North America's Native Copper Industry
The northern Lake Superior Basin is an area in the far north of a metal-using industry that began over 9,500 years ago. I use the term Native Copper Industry as an umbrella term to refer to all copper procurement, production, and use by Indigenous peoples in North America’s Great Lakes Region. The development of this industry partly owes to the large deposits of native copper that exist on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. People accessed these deposits either through the mining of primary deposits or through float copper.
Cultural History
Paleo
12,000 to 8,500 Years Ago
Woodland
3,000 years ago until European Contact in the 1600s
Archaic
9,000-2,500 Years Ago
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Post-Contact
Arrival of Europeans to Present
Paleo
The Paleo occurs between 12,000 to 8,500 years ago. There is no known evidence of human activity on Isle Royale during this period. Campetti lays out several explanations for why there was no occupation of Isle Royale during this period. There are two primary reasons—one, that the high water levels and turbulent drainage would deter early travel, and two, that low water levels during the Houghton Low would place the Paleo shoreline underwater, making it impossible to determine shoreline occupations during this period (Campetti 2016). During this time, the first inhabitants entered the Lake Superior Basin. These groups were small, highly mobile groups that favored river or lake terraces (Martin 1999).
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As glaciers retreated, people followed along the north shore. Dawson (1979) describes the first people to enter this area after the last major glaciation as being mobile groups of hunters who carried lanceolate projectile points with a fine, parallel, ripple flaking called Agate Basin points (Dawson 1979). Dawson attributes these groups as belonging to a Plano-base, indicating a belief that they originated from the Great Plains. While initial migrations into this area are thought to have followed large game animal migration, other resources also drew people to return (Martin 1999). On the north shore, sites such as the Cummins site show an extensive paleo presence. The Cummins site is an extensive Jasper taconite quarry workshop and habitation site on a high relic shoreline in the Kaministikwia River valley (Dawson 1983a; Julig 1984, 1994). Jasper taconite is a knappable chert from the Gunflint formation distinguished by its color, which has variations ranging from bright red to almost black and contains inclusions of silica rich sediments and microscopic hematite and magnetite particles (Mulholland and Klawiter 2009). Jasper taconite quarries, such as these, are abundant in the Thunder Bay area, occupying relict shorelines of the Minong paleo-lake level (Dawson 1972, 1983a; Wright 1972). These sites take advantage of the large deposits of chippable stone of the Gunflint Formation that reside in this area. The lithic assemblages on the Thunder Bay area Paleo sites are known as the Lakehead Complex (Fox 1975). Besides the Cummins, important sites from this complex include MacKenzie I, Drohm, Rocky Point, Knife Lake, Narrows, Sturgeon Sand Spit, and South Fowl Lake II (Markham 2012). The Lakehead Complex has an oblique parallel flaking pattern, bilateral edge grinding, and basal edge grinding. Projectile points are lanceolate with a slightly convex to concave base and a basal lateral constriction acting as a stem (Fox 1975; Markham 2012).
Archaic
A gradual change in subsistence strategies from earlier periods marks the Archaic period (9,000-2,500 BP) in the Lake Superior Basin (Kuehn 1998). Archaeological tool assemblages demonstrate increased tool specialization, including new forms of lithic tools and inclusions of new materials, such as copper (Pleger and Stoltman 2009). At this time, there was an increase in sedentism, the number of re-occupied seasonal sites grew, and seasonally occupied base camps emerged as a primary site type (Brown 1997; Mason 2002; Campetti 2016). Neubauer (2018) demonstrated on Grand Island that Archaic populations would move inland during the winter and early spring months, returning to resource-gathering camps on the shoreline during the warmer months.
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We can subdivide the Archaic period into three parts: Early (9,000-7,500 BP), Middle (7,500-3,500 BP), and Late (3,500-2,500 BP). The Early Archaic overlaps with the end of the Paleo, with the cultural transition between the two poorly understood (Dawson 1979; Gibbon 1998; Clark 1999; Martin 1999; Mulholland et al. 2011; Langford 2018). The archaeological record shows little about this period in the northern Lake Superior Basin (Clark 1995; Langford 2018; Martin 1999). Researchers have theorized that this is because the Early Archaic coincides with the Houghton Low, making the shoreline at the time of the Early Archaic underwater today and thus impossible to survey with traditional archaeological methods (Campetti 2016). During the Early Archaic period, we see the first habitation of Isle Royale and have the first evidence of the use of copper on both Isle Royale and the north shore (Langford 2018). The climate is drier and warmer than today (Martin 1999). This warmer climate saw the northward advance of deciduous hardwood species, such as elm, basswood, and sugar maple, and a rising abundance of oak (Pleger and Stoltman 2009). This climate change led to people adapting to their new environment and was the driver in the transition into the Archaic period.
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During the Middle Archaic period (7,500-3,500 BP), copper became a significant component of the Archaic toolkit, used for various utilitarian purposes, such as hunting, fishing, woodworking, and leatherworking (Campetti 2016). The importance of copper can be seen from the wide distribution of copper artifacts when compared to limited primary sources in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale. At the same time, we see the first intensive use of resources on Isle Royale, such as fish, as well as the first evidence of copper mining (6,500 BP) (Campetti 2016; Pompeani et al. 2015; Vall et al. 2022). This is most prevalent at the Minong mining site (Drier and DuTemple 2012; Griffin 1961; Halsey 2018; Holmes 1901; Martin 1999). The Minong mining site is along the island's north side, less than a mile from the nearest modern shoreline. It is accessed through a long-protected cove (McCargo Cove) that allows access to the Minong Ridge (Clark 1995). The Minong mine is the largest copper mining site on the island, both pre and post-contact (Clark 1995; Halsey 2018). Sediment cores at critical areas on both Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula detect a significant spike in lead pollution between 6,500 and 5,400 BP (Pompeani et al. 2015; Vall et al. 2022). Lead pollution, a direct byproduct accumulated in lake sediments from runoff, signals intensive mining activities during this time. This evidence is corroborated by radiocarbon dating of charcoal inside the mining pits (Beukens et al. 1992; Pompeani et al. 2015, 2021). The Middle, into the Late Archaic are characterized by the Nipissing paleo lake-level event, as discussed above.
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The Late Archaic period (3,500-2,500 BP) in the Great Lakes is distinguishable from earlier periods due to the maturing of multiple distinct archaeological cultures—with differences in material style, social interactions, and assemblage distributions, as well as a broader subsistence base overall and larger population (Campetti 2016; Clark 1995, 1999; Pleger and Stoltman 2009). During this period, we see the rise of highly interactive regional exchange networks (Clark 1995; Ehrhardt 2014). Clark described this period as having an “intensification of local subsistence strategies that gave structure to the relationships among neighboring groups, thus facilitating the exchange of both goods and information” (Clark 1995:7). It is this increased facilitation in regional exchange that makes the Archaic period important for understanding the origins of large-scale exchange networks in the Great Lakes.
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Old Copper Complex (OCC), also called Old Copper Industry or Culture, is defined as a copper-tool-heavy Archaic tradition that is centered on the Western Great Lakes, most notably in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, beginning as early as 9,500 years ago up till around 3,000 years ago (Pleger and Stoltman 2009; Pompeani et al. 2021). OCC is described as not being a singular group but instead consists of a series of mobile, hunter-gatherer cultures that differed in burial practices and bone and lithic industries (Ehrhardt 2014; Miles 1951; Pleger and Stoltman 2009; Pompeani et al. 2021). These cultures are linked through a shared native copper-using industry with a common knowledge of metalworking technology (Gibbon 1998; Pleger and Stoltman 2009; Pompeani et al. 2021). Archaeologists define cultures based on shared material culture, practices, and geographic locations. These cultures, thus resemble artifact assemblages more than they represent the people who used these artifacts and how they affiliated themselves.
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OCC copper artifacts are primarily utilitarian in form and include artifacts such as “hunting gear (spear points), fishing gear (hooks, harpoons, and gorges), and woodworking gear (axes, adzes, celts, spuds, chisels, gouges, and wedges) as well as tools for performing such everyday tasks as food preparation or hide working (knives, awls, drills, punches, and spatulas)” (Pleger and Stoltman 2009:708). The exact use of these artifacts has been debated. Early studies focused on OCC copper recovered from burial contexts, arguing for a more ritual function of the artifacts, while latter studies showed that many of the non-burial copper artifacts recovered contain evidence of use including edge deformation and hard working (Binford 1962; McHugh 1973; Vernon 1990). The efficiency of copper tools has also been called into question. Beeber (2021) tested the efficiency of copper cools (including points and awls) in comparison to their lithic and bone counterparts, concluding that copper tools are as efficient as lithic and bone tools in terms of function. It is likely that copper artifacts were used for a range of activities, with many copper artifacts being multipurpose. Along with these utilitarian forms, OCC artifacts include ornamental and ritualistic items in smaller amounts (Pleger and Stoltman 2009; Wittry 1950, 1951).
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The southern Shield Archaic (called just Shield Archaic from here on out) is the primary cultural tradition attributed to Isle Royale and the north shore during the Archaic period. The larger Shield Archaic designation is theorized to have occupied the area of the Canadian Shield from Keewatin District to Cape Brenton, Nova Scotia (Clark 1999). Shield Archaic peoples developed out of the late Plano cultural base, migrating into the Upper Great Lakes region from the southeast as the vegetation expanded following the retreat of the last continental glaciers (Dawson 1979; Langford 2018). Shield Archaic sites are known for the extensive use of watercraft, specialization in wood crafting, and the exploitation of moose, caribou, fish, and beaver (Clark 1995; Dawson 1979). According to Clark, the intensification of local subsistence strategies in this period created a structural relationship between neighbors and facilitated an exchange of goods and information (Clark 1995). This increase in trade allows for a greater exploitation of resources, most notably copper. Based on the limited number of Shield Archaic sites collected and surveyed towards the end of the twentieth century, copper is thought to be an important tool for woodworking and fishing (Arthurs 2018; Dawson 1972; McLeod 1978; Platcek 1965). However archaeologists have recovered both utilitarian and non-utilitarian copper artifacts (Dawson 1979). On Isle Royale, researchers are slowing beginning to unravel the mystery that is the Shield Archaic. Recent studies examining copper production and habitation sites on Isle Royale have focused on a recent survey project that targets Archaic deposits on relict beaches across the island. These studies have demonstrated a heavy Archaic presence on Isle Royale focused on copper production and other resource extraction (Olson 2018; Stroh 2014). McLeod (1978), discusses the seasonal movement of Shield Archaic peoples as they travel across Dog Lake. Shield Archaic people likely spent summers along Lake Superior’s shoreline, visiting Isle Royale to acquire resources (such as copper). The winter would be spent at dispersed camps away from the harsh winter weather of Lake Superior. The spring and fall would be spent traversing interior waterways, as people moved between available resources (McLeod 1978).
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Woodland
The Woodland period (3,000 years ago until European Contact in the 1600s) further developed trends that began during the Archaic. In general, subsistence strategies became more versatile in the Great Lakes, utilizing gathering and horticulture with an increased focus on aquatic resources (Campetti 2016; Drake and Dunham 2004). In the Lake Superior Basin, there is a shift in the Woodland period from the use of large copper implements to smaller tools, as well as an increase in exotic lithic materials (such as Hudson Bay lowland chert) that are not native to Isle Royale (Campetti 2016; Clark 1995; Clark and Martin 2004; Ehrhardt 2014; Goodman 1984; Martin 1999; Olson 2018; Stroh 2014). Elsewhere on the Midcontinent, the appearance of Lake Superior copper becomes prominent at archaeological sites, indicating increased trade or travel (Ehrhardt 2014; Fox et al. 1995; Goodman 1984; Hill 2016, 2009a; Hill et al. 2016; Martin 1993, 1999; Wittry 1950, 1951). During the Woodland period, and likely extending back into the Archaic, multiple groups are believed to have used Isle Royale for copper extraction and mining, perhaps even simultaneously. (Cochrane 2009). This is most apparent in the archaeological record with the appearance of ceramics during the transition period between the Late Archaic and Initial Woodland around 3,000 years ago (Clark 1992). Clark (1992, 1999) identified ceramics from various groups at Woodland sites on the island. According to Cochrane, this indicates a communal use of the island during these periods (Cochrane 2009).
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We can subdivide the Woodland period on Isle Royale into two periods: Initial (2,500-1,350 BP) and Terminal (1,350-350 BP) (Campetti 2016). Laurel ceramics dominated the Initial Woodland period. (Clark 1995, 1999; Martin 1999). The Laurel tradition, known for being coil constructed with modest grit temper, containing conoidal shapes, and having straight rims with squared lips, has a wide geographic range from the Plains to the Lake Superior Basin (Campetti 2016; Clark 1999). The Terminal Woodland period began around 1,350 BP and ended with the arrival of Europeans in the Upper Great Lakes. According to Clark, the Terminal Woodland period is set apart from the Initial Woodland period by “increased localized cultural differentiation measurable in increments of stylistic variability and raw material use” (1995:6). There is an increase in the seasonal exploitation of resources. They designed technological developments to maximize yields (Campetti 2016). The increased specialization during this period is best observed in the ceramic assemblage found on Terminal Woodland sites on Isle Royale (Clark 1995). These sites include ceramics from Blackduck, Huron, Juntunen, Lakes Phase, Mackinac, Oneota, Sandy Lake, Selkirk, and the Straits of Mackinac traditions (Clark 1992, 1995; Campetti 2016). This period is most represented in the archaeological record on Isle Royale. While this could demonstrate an increased usage and occupation of Isle Royale, it could also illustrate the survey biases due to these sites being along the modern shoreline (Campetti 2016; Clark 1995). However, it should be noted that the Terminal Woodland period in the Great Lakes as a whole indicates an increase in population, an intensification of resource acquisition, and a rise in hostilities, suggesting that the site data may not be as biased as Campetti suggests. (Martin 1999).
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At the end of the Terminal Woodland period, we see the formation of the tribal structure used during Native American’s first contact with Europeans (Benn and Thompson 2014; Clark 1999). On Isle Royale, the most prominent of these contemporary groups is the Ojibwa, also known as the Anishinaabe (Clark 1999; Cochrane 2009). The Ojibwa are an Algonquian-speaking people composed of multiple groups with a shared language and cultural traditions that migrated from the Atlantic coast along the St. Lawrence Seaway over 500 years ago (Clark 1999; Danziger Jr. 1990; Time-Life Editors 1994; Treuer 2009; Warren 2009; Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 2024; Drake and Dunham 2004; Grand Portage Lodge & Casino 2024). The Ojibwa settled along both shores of Lake Superior (known to the Ojibwa as Gitche Gumee), extending west up to the Great Plains and northward to the Lake of the Woods (Warren 2009). The Ojibwa subsistence strategy consists of seasonal rounds determined based on the resource availability of the current season (Clark 1999). Springtime was a period of coming together in which spawning runs at the mouths of Lake Superior’s large rivers produced large amounts of suckers and sturgeons. Summer was spent hunting, fishing, and berry collecting (Cochrane 2009; Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 2024). Fall was used to harvest wild rice, the most important crop for those near major cultivation zones. Winter was a time of isolation and limited mobility, in which they could hunt, trap, and store meat (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 2024). In the late winter and early spring families would begin harvest maple sugar (Clark 1999; Cochrane 2009; Time-Life Editors 1994; Agricola 1546a; Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 2024).
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As bands became more sedentary leading into the historic period, Isle Royale came under the control of one specific Ojibwa band, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Clark 1992; Cochrane 2009). I should mention that other groups may still have maintained a connection to Isle Royale. Still, during treaty negotiations at the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa was recognized as the sole guardians of the Island. (Clark 1992; Cochrane 2009; Warren 2009). As previously mentioned, the Ojibwa practiced a form of seasonal subsistence. This can be seen in the occupation patterns on Isle Royale, used from the spring to the fall. During this time, the Ojibwa could fish, mine, and harvest maple sugar and berries (Cochrane 2009). Maple stands were of high importance on the island, carefully maintained on the higher ridges, particularly on the southwest side of the island (Cochrane 2009). The extreme cold and lack of resources kept people from staying on the island over the winter. Cochrane (2009) noted that people crossed the ice to hunt when the weather permitted, but identified no year-round Ojibwa habitations on Isle Royale. The NPS continues to practice this seasonal use of the island, a tradition that has persisted throughout the historic period.
Post-Contact
Archaeologists define the post-contact period as beginning with the first contact Native Americans had with Europeans. The French were the first Europeans to enter the Great Lakes region in the early sixteenth century (Danziger Jr. 1990). These Frenchmen first noticed copper when they found ornaments among the St. Lawrence Seaway Indigenous groups (Clark 1999). Cartier became intrigued by copper objects held in his hosts' position during the winter of 1535-1536 (Cartier and Percival 1924). These were rumored to come from the “Kingdom of Saguenay,” north and west of the St. Lawrence Seaway (Bailey 2017). Champlain also became interested in copper mining in the north during his time in the New World (Lankton 1997). The French slowly established trading posts throughout the Great Lakes, claiming this territory as part of New France (Danziger Jr. 1990). The Northwest Company found one of the significant posts at Grand Portage, located across the lake from Isle Royale along a central portaging point with access to the Pigeon River, a significant entry point to the northern frontier (Clark 1999; Cochrane 2009). In 1789 the Northwest Company moved their depot to Thunder Bay to be more firmly in British territory. At this point some members of the band moved to what would eventually become Fort Williams, while others remained in the Grand Portage area (Clark 1999). Even today there is a close kinship between these two communities.
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After the French and Indian War, the French transferred all their possessions in the Great Lakes to the British (Cochrane 2009). In 1771, Alexander Henry started the first documented Euro-American copper mine along the Ontonagon River (Clark 1999; Drier and DuTemple 2012). After this time, the ownership of the Great Lakes region came into conflict again, first during the American Revolution and again in the War of 1812. After the War of 1812, the newly formed United States claimed control of Isle Royale (Cochrane 2009). In 1838, the American Fur Company attempted to set up fishing posts on Isle Royale, but efforts were short-lived. During the early to mid-1800’s, Euro-Americans discovered copper deposits in the Lake Superior Basin (Drier and DuTemple 2012; Griffin 1961; Halsey 2018; Lankton 1997). Prior to this colonial powers with claims to the area, such as the French, the British, and eventually the Americans paid little attention to Isle Royale, leaving it under the control of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, specifically the Grand Portage Band and their kin from Fort William (Cochrane 2009). The influx of trade goods during the 1700’s caused the previously practiced copper mining practices among the Ojibwa to taper off and eventually stop altogether. Ojibwa's use of Isle Royale during this period shifted towards means of subsistence and away from the mining of copper (Cochrane 2009). With the discovery of copper, the American government pushed for these valuable lands to be ceded. The 1842 and 1844 Treaty of La Pointe ceded this territory from the Grand Portage Ojibwa and into the hands of the United States government, which placed it open to private sale (Cochrane 2009). Due to their location in British Canada, Fort William First Nation was not included in this treaty by the United States government.
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The “Copper Boom” lasted in stages from the 1840s to the 1890s (Lankton 1997). This was a boom-and-bust period in the Lake Superior Basin, as many companies tried to extract red metal (Drier and DuTemple 2012; Halsey 2018). Fishing operations continued throughout this time (Clark 1995; Cochrane 2009; Scarpino 2010). In 1876, Isle Royale became the property of the state of Michigan, and in the early 1900s, a flood of Scandinavian anglers entered the archipelago (Lankton 1997; Scarpino 2010). This influx of anglers marked the end of the mining stage of the island. Over the next forty years, the island shifted from a major fishing hub to a resort destination (Scarpino 2010). In 1931, the idea of turning Isle Royale into a national park was first introduced. In 1946, Congress dedicated the newly minted park (Cochrane 2009). The park's creation removed private control of the island and once again made it a public space, albeit heavily regulated and protected by the National Park Service (Scarpino 2010). These regulations were further restricted with the park's designation as a wilderness zone in clarifying the Wilderness Act 1976 (Senate., Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. (1948-1977) United States Congress 1976). Today, the park is open to those who wish to hike along its trails and boat in its waters. Small teams of researchers and park staff live on the island seasonally. The park is closed during winter due to the dangers that wintering on and traveling to the island poses, even to 21st-century researchers and outdoor enthusiasts.
