| Ontonagon Boulder | |
|---|---|
 Ontonagon Copper Boulder Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (2011) | |
| Material | native copper |
| Long | 3 feet 8 inches (1.12 m) |
| Width | 3 feet 4 inches (1.02 m) |
| Weight | 3,708 pounds (1,682 kg) |
| Discovered | 1766 Ontonagon River on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan |
| Discovered by | Alexander Henry |
| Present location | National Museum of Natural History |
The Ontonagon Boulder (/ˌɒntəˈnɑːɡən ˈboʊldəɹ/) is a 3,708 pounds (1,682 kg) boulder of native copper originally found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States, and now in the possession of the Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. In 1843 the boulder was purchased from a local entrepreneur and shipped to Washington D.C.
The boulder is a relic of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and was well known to Native Americans in its location on the west branch of the Ontonagon River, in what is now Victoria Reservoir. According to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the boulder was used by tribe members to make offerings to its manitou (spirit) and to seek improvement in their health and well-being.[1]
Although many attribute the boulder to a relic of Michigan's copper boom, it was not a product of the boom but the reason for it. The copper boom was only fully realized after the boulder had been moved to Washington D.C.
- ^ Office of Repatriation (2000). Executive Summary Assessment of a Request for the Repatriation of the Ontonagon Boulder by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Report). Smithsonian Institution.