This story has two parts, one horrific, the second heroic.

The Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians have lived in the area around Burt Lake for hundreds, and perhaps, thousands of years.

Among Native Americans, the Burt Lake Band was long known as the “Cheboiganing Band” and Burt Lake was known as “Cheboiganing Lake.”

The Cheboiganing Band, which was relatively small, had long been settled on “Neyaashiiwan Point,” a prominent peninsula on the northwest shore of the lake.

Upon arriving in the mid-1800s, white settlers re-named it “Indian Point.”

The Cheboiganing people were not war-like. They have always been known as friendly people.

Tribal members were devout Catholics who worked hard fishing, farming and logging.

Some walked to Cheboygan and back every day for work.

Tribal chiefs were signatories to the 1836 Treaty of Washington, in which they were promised a reservation of 1,000 acres on Cheboiganing/Burt Lake. But the federal government never followed through.

The 1855 Treaty of Detroit reserved land in two townships of Cheboygan County. Ttribal members were supposed to be able individual land holdings. The Indians were led to believe they would be given a legal deed naming them as owners and that their land would to be permanently held in trust by the governor of Michigan.

In 1899, a wealthy land speculator from Cheboygan, John McGinn, bought the parcels at a dubious tax sale based on the Indian’s supposed “failure” to pay property taxes.

With the land in a trust under the protection of the governor, the Indians were never supposed to pay property taxes.

On October 11, 1900, knowing most males were off at work, McGinn led the Cheboygan County Sheriff and a group of hired men to the village, terrorized the women and children, removed their belongings from their homes and set the village on fire.

Only one house survived. It is preserved today on the grounds of the Cheboygan History Center on Court Street.

The terrible act was quickly memorialized as “The Burt Lake Burnout.” It must have been terribly traumatic. The desperate sense of betrayal and unfairness hung in the air.

After seizing the land, McGinn changed the name to “Colonial Point” to attract wealthy buyers from Chicago and Detroit.

Word about the burnout was slow to get out. As the nation learned about the horror, Americans were stunned.

After fleeing, many of the victims eventually made their way back to resume their lives on nearby land.

One can understand the bitterness and loss tribal members felt.

In coming decades, the winds of war began to swirl. In 1939, war started in Europe. The U.S.A. did not enter the war until the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1942, by the Japanese. We needed time to train our fighting men and women, and switch factories to war production.

With memories of the Burn-Out fresh in their minds, one could understand if band members might be reluctant to join the fight.

But that was not the case.

Raymond Olson, a local historian, shared with me an impressive list of people from the Burt Lake Band who enlisted.

Imagine this, a group of people who had been burnt out of their homes not too long before, being enthusiastic to fight for the state and nation that had taken their land.

They answered the call. They were patriots and became heroes, fighting and dying in nearly every theatre of war. Ray found sixteen:

Hector A. Landrie (1923-1944) E (E.) June 27, 1942. Served in North Africa. Spouse Viola Finley (Raymond Olson’s mom). S/o David and Rose (Vincent) Landrie.

TEC/5 Julius C. Lewis (1923-2009) Field Artillery. Wounded five times. E. Ja#n.1943. Discharged Dec. 1945. B. St. Mary’s Indian Cemetery #2 (St.M.I.C#2).

CPL Sam W. Griswold (1916-2001) Awarded Silver Star for Valor in Combat. B. Dec. 18, 1916. Born and died at Burt.

Seaman Douglas D. LeBlanc (1927-1989) B. Dec. 28,1927 in Cheboygan, D. April 27, 1989. Groves, Texas.

Seaman Louis A. LeBlanc (1925-1997) U.S. Merchant Marines.

Garland R. Martell (1921-1979) M. Margaret Nonqueskwa, 1940. E. Oct. 23, 1942. B. at Burt. Burial (St.M.I.C#2).

TEC/5 Howard J. Martell, B. May 5, 1922. D. May 13,1992 in Harbor Springs. Burial (St.M.I.C#2).

PVT Nicholas J. Naganashe (1923-1944) Killed-in-action on the first day of the D-Day landings in Normandy June 6, 1944. (St.M.I.C#2).

MSGT Henry Phillip Parkey (1926-1984) E. Jan. 9, 1945. Stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Served in WW2 and Korea. Burial (St.M.I.C#2).

1stLT Raymond Albert Shawa, Sr. (1919-2004) E. Feb. 10, 1942. Served in WW2 and Korea. S/o Amos and Agnes (Hamlin) Shawa.

Army SGT Edward Amos Shawa, Sr. (1922-2008). E. Oct. 14,1942. B. in Burt. D. Sept. 28, 2008 in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.. S/o Amos and Agnes (Hamlin) Shawa.

Seaman Robert C. Shawa (1927-1979) E. April 1944. Burial (St.M.I.C#2). S/o Amos and Ida Shawa.

PVT Francis J. Shawa (1914-1981) E. Oct. 15, 1940. Army Corps of Engineers. B. Pellston. D. Petoskey.

PFC Edward W. Shenoskey (1914-1991) E. June 10, 1942. Discharged Jan 26, 1946. S/o Peter and Christine (Maxceney) Shenoskey.

PFC Henry J. Shenoskey (1922-1995) Buried (St.M.I.C#2). S/o Peter and Christine (Maxceney) Shenoskey.

PFC Herman P. Boursaw, (1918-1947) 526th Field Artillery Rocket Battalion. S/o William and Ida (Duffina) Boursaw. Herman married Bernice Dingman.