The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
present in the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
region of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. They include the
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
(including
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al ...
and
Oji-Cree),
Odawa
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
,
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
,
Mississaugas
The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning "hose ...
,
Nipissing and
Algonquin people
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawato ...
s. The Anishinaabe speak ''Anishinaabemowin'', or
Anishinaabe language
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...
s that belong to the
Algonquian language family
The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...
.
At the time of
first contact
First contact may refer to:
*First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch
*First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another
...
with Europeans they lived in the
Northeast Woodlands and
Subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
, and some have since spread to the
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
.
The word Anishinaabe translates to "people from whence lowered". Another definition refers to "the good humans", meaning those who are on the right road or path given to them by the
Creator Gitche Manitou
Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages. Christian missionaries have translated ''God'' as ''Gitche Manitou'' in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages.
''Manitou ...
, or Great Spirit.
Basil Johnston
Basil H. Johnston (13 July 1929 – 8 September 2015) was a Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) and Canadian writer, storyteller, language teacher and scholar.
Biography
Johnston was born July 13, 1929 on the Parry Island Indian Reserve to Rufus and Mary (n ...
, an Ojibwe historian, linguist, and author wrote that the term's literal translation is "Beings Made Out of Nothing" or "Spontaneous Beings". The Anishinaabe believe that their people were created by divine breath.
The word Anishinaabe is often mistakenly considered a synonym of
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
. However, Anishinaabe refers to a much larger group of tribes.
Name
![Agawa Rock, panel VIII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Agawa_Rock%2C_panel_VIII.jpg)
ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯ ''Anishinaabe'' has many different spellings. Different spelling systems may indicate
vowel length
In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word, f ...
or spell certain consonants differently (''Anishinabe'', ''Anicinape''); meanwhile, variants ending in -''eg/ek'' (''Anishinaabeg'', ''Anishinabek'') come from an
Algonquian plural, while those ending in an -''e'' come from an Algonquian singular.
The name ''Anishinaabe'' is sometimes shortened to ''Nishnaabe'', mostly by
Odawa people
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
. The
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
''Neshnabé'' comes from the
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
, a people long allied with the Odawa and Ojibwe in the
Council of Three Fires. The
Nipissing,
Mississaugas
The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning "hose ...
, and
Algonquin are identified as Anishinaabe but are not part of the Council of Three Fires.
Closely related to the Ojibwe and speaking a language mutually intelligible with
''Anishinaabemowin'' (Anishinaabe language) is the
Oji-Cree (also known as "Severn Ojibwe"). Their most common
autonym is ''Anishinini'' (plural: ''Anishininiwag'') and they call their language ''
Anishininiimowin''.
Among the Anishinaabe, the Ojibwe collectively call the Nipissings and the Algonquins ''Odishkwaagamii'' (those who are at the end of the lake), while those among the Nipissings who identify themselves as Algonquins call the Algonquins proper ''Omàmiwinini'' (those who are downstream).
Not all Anishinaabemowin-speakers call themselves Anishinaabe. The Ojibwe people who migrated to what are now the
prairie provinces of Canada call themselves ''Nakawē(-k)'' and call their branch of the Anishinaabemowin ''Nakawēmowin''. (The French
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
for the group is ''
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al ...
''). Particular Anishinaabeg groups have different names from region to region.
Clans
The Anishinaabe use of the clan system represents familial, spiritual, economic and political relations between members of their communities. Often an animal is used to represent a person's clan or ''dodem'' but plants and other spirit beings are sometimes used as well. The word ''dodem'' means "the heart or core of a person." There are different teachings about how many clans there are and which are clans in leadership positions. This is due to the de-centralized mode of governance that the Anishinaabe practice. Each person is a self-determining authority and it is their duty to uphold their own roles and responsibilities for the wellbeing of ''all our relations''. This is understood as the "Law of Non-interference." Nobody can interfere with another being's path unless they are causing great harm to another or themselves.
Within the Anishinaabe governance structure there are seven leader clans that each facilitate a specific role and have responsibilities within the community and to the rest of Creation. Within each grouping of clans are seven clans. This means there are a total of 49 total Anishinaabe clans.
# ''Waawaakeshi'' (Deer)
#* ''Zaagi'idiwin'' (Love)
# ''Maang'' (Loon)
#* ''Debaadendiziwin'' (Humility)
# ''Migizi'' (Bald Eagle)
#* ''Debwewin'' (Truth)
# ''Makwa'' (Bear)
#* ''B'Maadziwin'' (Good Life or Balanced Life)
# ''Ajijaak'' (Crane)
#* ''Mnaadendimowin'' (Respect)
# ''Waabizheshii'' (Martin)
#* ''Aakedhwin'' (Bravery)
# ''Mshiikenh'' (Turtle)
#* ''Nbwaakaawin'' (Wisdom)
The clan system is integral to the Anishinaabe governance structure and to the Anishinaabe way of life as well as spiritual practices. People of the same clan are forbidden from getting married or having intimate relations as this would spell doom for the clan as a whole.
History
Origins
![Anishinaabe shoulder bag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Anishinaabe_shoulder_bag.jpg)
In Anishinaabe cultural tradition it is believed that human beings were created on the earth in four distinct places, in their own way. This is what ''Gizhe Mnidoo'' or The Creator intended. There are many versions and parts to the Creation story that tell about the creation of the cosmos, the earth, the plants, the animals and human beings. To Anishinaabe all life contains the sacred breath of life that was given by ''Gizhe Mnidoo'' and all things are animated through this sacred breath. The Anishinaabe give thanks for this gift of Creation through the burning or offering of ''Semaa'' or
Tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
.
''Anishinaabe'' oral tradition and records of ''
wiigwaasabak
''Wiigwaasabak'' (in Anishinaabe syllabics: , plural: ''wiigwaasabakoon'' ) are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes, also known as a "written language." ...
'' (birch bark scrolls) are still carried on today through the ''Midewewin'' society. This oral and written records contain the Anishinaabe creation stories as well as histories of migration that closely match other Indigenous groups of North America, such as the
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
. Before the Anishinaabe became Anishinaabe the people migrated from Waubanaukee an island of the East Coast, which may have been what is now called
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, as the great ice sheet receded at the end of the last ice age. This migrating group split in many different directions as they headed towards the land of the rising sun and became the many Indigenous populations that now exist on North America. After reaching the East Coast seven prophets came to the people. Each prophet delivered a specific prophecy to the people that are known as th
Seven Fires Prophecies After the prophets delivered their messages groups of people began to migrate westward to find the land where food grows on the water. The fulfilment of this prophecy is understood as when the Anishinaabe found the ''Mnoomin'' or
Wild Rice
Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...
that grew on the lakes in the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
region. This is where the Anishinaabe became Anishinaabe. To the ''Anishinaabeg'' the land they encompass is still recognized as ''Gitchi Mikinaak'' or Turtle Island.
The Anishinaabeg communities are recognized as
First Nations in Canada.
Relations with European settlers
The first of the Anishinaabeg to encounter European settlers were those of the
Three Fires Confederation
The Council of Three Fires (in oj, label=Anishinaabe, Niswi-mishkodewinan, also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishina ...
, within the states of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in the territory of the present-day United States, and southern Ontario and Quebec of Canada. There were many interactions between the Anishinaabeg and the European settlers, the Anishinaabeg dealt with Europeans through the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
and as allies in European-centered conflicts. Europeans traded with the Anishinaabeg for their furs in exchange for goods and also hired the anishinaabeg men as guides throughout the lands of North America. The Anishinaabeg women (as well as other Aboriginal groups) occasionally would intermarry with fur traders and trappers. Some of their descendants would later create a ''
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
'' ethnic group. Explorers, trappers, and other European workers married or had unions with other Anishinaabeg women, and their descendants tended to form a Métis culture.
French colonialists
The earliest Europeans to encounter native peoples in the Great Lakes area were the French ''
voyageurs
The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...
''.
These men were professional canoe-paddlers who transported furs and other merchandise over long distances in the lake and river system of northern America.
Such explorers gave French names to many places in present-day
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. The French were mainly
trappers
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
History
Neolithic ...
and traders and struggled in the harsh North American climate to form permanent successful settlements.
Generally, the Europeans relied heavily on indigneous groups to provide provisions in order to survive in North America.
British colonialists
The ethnic identities of the Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi did not develop until after the Anishinaabeg reached Michilimackinac on their journey westward from the Atlantic coast. Using the ''Midewewin'' scrolls, Potawatomi elder Shop-Shewana dated the formation of the Council of Three Fires to 796 AD at Michilimackinac.
In this council, the Ojibwa were addressed as the "Older Brother", the Odawa as the "Middle Brother", and the Potawatomi as the "Younger Brother". Consequently, when the three Anishinaabeg nations are mentioned in this specific order: Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, it implies the Council of Three Fires as well. Each tribe had different functions: the Ojibwa were the "keepers of the faith", the Odawa the "keepers of trade," and the Potawatomi are the "keepers/maintainers of/for the fire" (boodawaadam). This was the basis for their
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
s of Boodewaadamii'' (Ojibwe spelling) or ''Bodéwadmi'' (Potawatomi spelling).''
The Ottawa (also Odawa, Ottawa, Outaouais, or Trader) are a Native American and First Nations people. ''Ojibwe'', Ojibwa, Chippewa (or ''Anishinaabemowin'' in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) is the third most commonly spoken Native language in Canada (after Cree and Inuktitut), and the fourth most spoken in North America (behind Navajo, Cree, and Inuktitut). Potawatomi is a Central Algonquian language. It is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States. In southern Ontario in Canada, it is spoken by fewer than 50 people.
Though the Three Fires had several meeting places, they preferred ''
Michilimackinac'' due to its central location. The Council met for military and political purposes. The Council maintained relations with other nations, both fellow Anishinaabeg: the ''Ozaagii'' (Sac), ''Odagaamii'' (Meskwaki), ''Omanoominii'' (Menominee), and non-Anishinaabeg: ''Wiinibiigoo'' (Ho-Chunk), ''Naadawe'' (Iroquois Confederacy), ''Nii'inaa-Naadawe'' (
Wyandot
Wyandot may refer to:
Native American ethnography
* Wyandot people, also known as the Huron
* Wyandot language
* Wyandot religion
Places
* Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Wyandot County, Ohio
* Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...
), ''Naadawensiw'' (Sioux), ''Wemitigoozhi'' (France), ''Zhaaganaashi'' (England) and the ''Gichi-mookomaan'' (the United States). After the Europeans came into the country, the French built Fort Michilimackinac in the 18th century. After the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, the victorious English took over the fort, also using it as a trading post.
Through the
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the wo ...
-system (a totem is any entity which watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, clan or tribe) and promotion of trade, the Council generally had a peaceful existence with its neighbours. However, occasional unresolved disputes erupted into wars. The Council notably fought against the Iroquois Confederacy and the Sioux. During the Seven Years' War, the Council fought with France and against England, as it had longstanding trade relationships with the French. Militarized war, however, was a European import. Ceremonial warfare that was the predominant mode prior to European contact parallels older forms of European chivalry, where combatants met oftentimes one-on-one honor bouts. These matches did not always end in casualties and they had no component of political or material gain attached.
Later, the Anishinaabeg established a relationship with the British similar to that they had with the French. They formed the Three Fires Confederation in reaction to conflict with encroaching settlers and continuing tensions with the British Canadian government, as well as that of the new United States after it established independence at the end of the eighteenth century. The letters of Colonel Henry Boquet and Jeffery Amherst of the British army reveal a plan to eliminate Anishnaabe people through the intentional distribution of smallpox infected materials at Fort Pitt circa 1763. Peter Harstead's article 'Sickness and Disease on the Wisconsin frontier' (1959) chronicles similar efforts made by Americans (the fur company at Mackinac circa 1770). In the latter case, a cask of liquor was wrapped in a flag. Instructions were given that this gift not be opened until the Anishnaabe people present had returned to their home communities. Opening the gift early at Fond du Lac people began to get sick, and one who had seen the disease before in Montreal recognized it as smallpox .
United States
During the
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...
and the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, the Three Fires Confederacy fought against the United States. Many Anishinaabeg refugees from the Revolutionary War, particularly Odawa and Potawatomi, migrated north to British-held areas.
Those who remained east of the Mississippi River were subjected to the 1830
Indian Removal
Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...
policy of the United States; among the Anishinaabeg, the Potawatomi were most affected. The
Odawa
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
had been removed from the settlers' paths, so only a handful of communities experienced removal. For the Ojibwa, removal attempts culminated in the
Sandy Lake Tragedy
The Sandy Lake Tragedy was the culmination in 1850 of a series of events centered in Big Sandy Lake, Minnesota that resulted in the deaths of several hundred Lake Superior Chippewa. Officials of the Zachary Taylor Administration and Minnesota T ...
and several hundred deaths. The Potawatomi avoided removal only by escaping into Ojibwa-held areas and hiding from US officials.
William Whipple Warren (1825–1853), a United States man of mixed Ojibwe and European descent, became an
interpreter, assistant to a trader to the Ojibwe, and
legislator
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
of the
Minnesota Territory. A gifted storyteller and historian, he collected native accounts and wrote the ''History of the Ojibway People, Based Upon Traditions and Oral Statements'', first published by the
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...
in 1885, some 32 years after his early death from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. Given his Anglo-American father, Lyman Marcus Warren, and American education, the Ojibwe of the time did not consider Warren as "one of them". However, they retained friendly relations with him and considered him as a "half brother" due to his extensive knowledge of the Ojibwe language and culture and the fact that he had Ojibwe ancestry through his mixed Ojibwe-French mother, Marie Cadotte.
His work covered much of the culture and history of the Ojibwe, gathered from stories of the Ojibwe Nation.
Warren identified the Crane and Loon clans as the two Chief clans among his mother's Anishinaabe people. Crane Clan was responsible for external governmental relationships, and Loon Clan was responsible for internal governance relationships. Warren believed that the British and United States governments had deliberately destroyed the clan system, or the polity of governance when they forced indigenous nations to adopt representative government and direct elections of chiefs. Further, he believed such destruction led to many wars among the Anishinaabe. He also cited the experiences of other Native Nations in the US (such as the
Creek
A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet.
Creek may also refer to:
People
* Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans
...
,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, and others). His work in its entirety demonstrated the significance of the clan system.
After the Sandy Lake Tragedy, the government changed its policy to relocating tribes onto
reservations, often by consolidating groups of communities. Conflict continued through the 19th century, as Native Americans and the United States had different goals. After the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
, many Anishinaabeg communities in Minnesota were relocated and further consolidated
Relations with their neighbours
Other indigenous groups
There are many Anishinaabeg reserves and reservations; in some places, the Anishinaabeg share some of their lands with others, such as the Cree, the Dakota, the Delaware, and the
Kickapoo
Kickapoo may refer to:
People
* Kickapoo people, a Native American nation
** Kickapoo language, spoken by that people
** Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, a federally recognized tribe of Kickapoo people
** Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recog ...
, among others. The Anishnabeg who "merged" with the Kickapoo tribe may now identify as being Kickapoo in Kansas and Oklahoma. The Prairie Potawatomi were the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi of Illinois and Wisconsin who were relocated to Kansas during the 19th century.
The Anishinaabe of Manitoba, particularly those along the east side of Lake Winnipeg, have had longstanding historical conflicts with the Cree people.
Canada
In addition to other issues shared by
First Nations recognized by the Canadian government and other
aboriginal peoples in Canada
In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and '' Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider the ...
, the Anishinaabe of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have opposed the
Energy East pipeline
The Energy East pipeline was a proposed oil pipeline in Canada. It would have delivered diluted bitumen from Western Canada and North Western United States to Eastern Canada, from receipt points in Alberta, Saskatchewan and North Dakota to ref ...
of
TransCanada. The
Chippewas of the Thames First Nation legally challenged the right of the Canadian government to hold a pipeline hearing without their consent. The project was also the basis of a June 2015 declaration of reclaimed sovereignty over the Ottawa River valley by several Anishinaabe peoples.
United States
![Manoomin picking, 1905, Minnesota](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Manoomin_picking%2C_1905%2C_Minnesota.jpg)
The relationship between the various Anishinaabe communities and the United States government has been steadily improving since the passage of the 1934
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
. Several Anishinaabe communities still experience tensions with the state governments, county governments, and non-Native American individuals and their groups.
In contemporary times, the Anishinaabe have worked to renew the clan system as a model for self-governance. They have drawn from the work of
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
Edward Benton-Banai
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, who emphasizes education based on one's own culture. They believe using the clan system will also be a basis for the cultural and political revitalization of the people. Clan originally meant extended family. In this system originally, clans were represented by a changing cast of spokespeople at yearly meetings. In more recent times, clans have come to align personality characteristics with the animals that represent them. This shifts the focus from extended family governance to groups of people who have a particular kind of strength to offer to the community. For example, the deer clan is sometimes understood as having the direction of hospitality toward visitors, whereas the crane clan or eagle clan, depending on region, may be aligned with leadership qualities. Conversations surrounding how to change current systems of governance to better match how the people governed themselves over millennia are always occurring throughout ''Anishinaabe Aki''.
There are some major issues the various Anishinaabe communities face, such as cultural and language preservation or revitalization, full and independent federal recognition, some Anishinaabe communities are recognized by county or state governments, or are recognized by the federal government only as part of another tribe, disputes with band government(s), treaty rights, personal health issues, mistrust of mainstream medicine, poor relationship with law enforcement, and social disparity such as poor education, high unemployment rates, substance abuse/
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
and
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
rates.
Culture
Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers
The Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers are among the most commonly shared teachings in Native culture.
They hold great significance to the Anishinaabeg and are considered to be the founding principles of their way of life.
The Seven Grandfather teachings have been around for centuries, passed on from elders through storytelling. These teachings have helped shape the way of life for the Anishinaabeg for years and continue to do so.
The stories can be adapted to fit specific community values and have been incorporated by organizations, schools, different programs, artists, individualists, and tribes.
''Nibwaakaawin'': Wisdom (Amik)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, to cherish knowledge is to know wisdom.
Wisdom is given by the Creator to be used for the good of the people. In
Anishinaabemowin
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
, this word expresses not only "wisdom" but also means "prudence," or "intelligence."
In some communities, ''Gikendaasowin'' is used; in addition to "wisdom," this word can also mean "intelligence" or "knowledge."
''Zaagi'idiwin'': Love (Migizi)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, to know peace is to know love.
Love must be unconditional.
When people are weak they need love the most.
In
Anishinaabemowin
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
, this word with the reciprocal theme ''idi'' indicates that this form of love is mutual.
In some communities, ''Gizhaawenidiwin'' is used, which in most context means "jealousy" but in this context is translated as either "love" or "zeal."
''Minaadendamowin'': Respect (Shkode-bzhiki)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, to honor all creation is to have respect.
All of creation should be treated with respect.
If an individual wants to be respected, they must also show respect.
Some communities instead use ''Ozhibwaadenindiwin'' or ''Manazoonidiwin''.
''Aakode'ewin'': Bravery (Makwa)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, to be brave is to face the foe with integrity.
In
Anishinaabemowin
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
, this word literally means "state of having a fearless heart."
To do what is right even when the consequences are unpleasant.
Some communities instead use either ''Zoongadiziwin'' ("state of having a strong casing") or ''Zoongide'ewin'' ("state of having a strong heart").
''Gwayakwaadiziwin'': Honesty (Gaagaakshiinh /Gitchi'Sabe)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, honesty in facing a situation is to be brave.
Individuals should always be honest in word and action.
If an individual is honest with themselves first, they will more easily be able to be honest with others.
In
Anishinaabemowin
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
, this word can also mean "righteousness."
''Dabaadendiziwin'': Humility (Maa'iingan)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, humility requires recognizing oneself as a sacred part of Creation, neither better nor worse than any other creation.
In
Anishinaabemowin
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
, this word can also mean "compassion."
Some communities instead express this with ''Bekaadiziwin'', which in addition to "humility" can also be translated as "calmness," "meekness," "gentility" or "patience."
''Debwewin'': Truth (Mshiikenh/Mikinak)
According to Anishinaabeg culture, truth is knowing all of these things.
Individuals should speak the truth and not deceive themselves or others.
Storytelling
The Anishinaabeg follow an
oral storytelling tradition.
Storytelling serves as an integral part of Anishinaabeg culture as "stories teach the stock of wisdom and knowledge found in the culture" and "promotes 'respectful individualism," wherein individuals do not force their thinking upon others.
Instead of directly teaching right and wrong, the Anishinaabeg often use storytelling to share their history and cultural truths, including but not limited to the
Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers.
Stories often "provide important lessons for living and give life purpose, value, and meaning."
They can further "include religious teachings, metaphysical links, cultural insights, history, linguistic structures, literay and aesthetic form, and Indigenous 'truths'."
By understanding traditional stories, individuals can better understand themselves, their world, where they came from, and where they are going.
Storytelling is situational, meaning that storytellers must be mindful of audience, of listener, and
houldkeep the oration accessible and real."
When a story is shared, "
e teller and the listener are equally activie; the listener is not passive."
Furthermore, stories told are not static: "Once they become public, people will play will them, embellish them, and add to them ... There is no need for any particular story to have any particular form. Nor is it the case that any one story can ever be said to have achieved its final form. Instead, all stories are works in progress."
Before telling a story, Elders "very often begin by quoting the authority of Elders who have gone before. They do not state the authority as coming from themselves. They will say things like, 'This is what they used to say,' or 'This is what they said.'"
Beyond sharing cultural knowledge, storytelling traditions can help provide Anishinaabeg children "with the intellectual tools necessary to exercise authory."
The Anishinaabeg see the act of allowing children to share stories as "an act of empowerment."
This action "recognizes that even children have something to contribute, and encourages them to do so."
Stories are typically shared throughout the winter when there is less to do and the animals are sleeping.
Trickster
The Trickster is a common character in Anishinaabeg storytelling and goes by many names, including
Coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
, Raven, Wesakejac,
Nanabozo, and
Glooscap
Glooscap (variant forms and spellings ''Gluskabe'', ''Glooskap'', ''Gluskabi'', ''Kluscap'', ''Kloskomba'', or ''Gluskab'') is a legendary figure of the Wabanaki peoples, native peoples located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Atlantic Ca ...
.
They appear in many forms and genders.
Stories involving the Trickster "often use humour, self-mocking, and absurdity to carry good lessons."
The Trickster helps teach cultural lessons by "learning lessons the 'hard' way."
Within such stories, "Trickster often gets into trouble by ignoring cultural rules and practices or by giving sway to the negative aspects of 'humanness' ... Trickster seems to learn lessons the hard way and sometimes not at all."
Contrary to some depictions of Trickster figures, the Trickster in Anishinaabeg stories "has the ability to do good things for others and is sometimes like a powerful spiritual being and
sgiven much respect."
Stories involving the Trickster serve to "remind us about the good power of interconnectedness within family, community, nation, culture, and land. If we become disconnected, we lose the ability to make meaning from Indigenous stories."
Before the 1800s
Before the arrival of the Europeans, and until at least the 1800s, many Anishinaabeg were subsistence farmers. For example, the Odawa, centered in
Michilimackinac grew
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
in the summers and generally moved south in smaller family groups in the winters to hunt game. They tapped
sugar maples in the spring, and moved back to the main villages to prepare for the
lake sturgeon spawning season and planting.
They were "renowned" for their skills at making and using
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
s and traded widely.
The Anishinaabe practised
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
, sometimes boiling and eating their foes after battles.
They also practised
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, usually as a way to "cover their dead".
Their
kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
was
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
and most Anishinaabe
doodemag enforced
exogamy, the wife keeping and representing her father's doodem while her children would take on their father's doodem.
For the first few years of a marriage, a husband would live with his wife's family, and then they would typically return to the husband's people.
As a result, many Anishinaabe villages included people speaking different languages not only from different clans, but also from entirely different peoples, such as the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
and even occasionally
Sioux
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
.
Education
In June 1994, the Chiefs at the Anishinabek Grand Council gathering at
Rocky Bay First Nation
The Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (formerly known as Rocky Bay First Nation) is an Ojibway First Nation band government in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Their territory is located on the Rocky Bay 1 reserve in Greenstone, Ontario, borderi ...
, directed that the Education Directorate formally establish the
Anishinabek Education Institute
Anishinabek Educational Institute (AEI) is an Aboriginal-owned and controlled post-secondary institution in Canada. Aboriginal institutes partner with colleges and universities to offer students degree programs, apprenticeships, certificate pro ...
(AEI) in accordance with the post-secondary education model that was submitted and ratified with provisions for satellite campuses and a community-based delivery system. (Res. 94/13)
In August 2017 the Anishinabek Nation in Ontario and the
government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
signed an agreement allowing the Anishinabek Nation to control the classroom curriculum and school resources of its Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 education system in 23 communities.
Approximately 8% of Anishinabek students attend schools on-reserve.
See also
*
Anishinaabe tribal political organizations A Tribal Political Organization is a political tribal council advocating the political interests of the First Nations and Tribes of their constituency. This list focuses on the TPOs to which the various Anishinaabe nations belong.
List of Anishin ...
*
L'Arbre Croche, Odawa settlement from Michilimackinac to Little Traverse Bay
Notes
References
* Benton-Banai, Edward. (2004). Creation—From the Ojibwa. ''The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway.'' University of Minnesota Press. Juvenile Nonfiction.
*
Further reading
* Wendy Macoons Genius
''Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings''(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2009).
External links
*
*
*
‘Living’ Cybercartographic Atlas of Indigenous Perspectives and Knowledgeby the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre at
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
''Ojibwe: Waasa-Inaabidaa'' a six-part documentary series by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
{{authority control
First Nations in Manitoba
First Nations in Ontario
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First Nations in Saskatchewan
Great Lakes tribes
Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic
Native American tribes in Indiana
Native American tribes in Kansas
Native American tribes in Michigan
Native American tribes in Minnesota
Native American tribes in Montana
Native American tribes in North Dakota
Native American tribes in Oklahoma
Native American tribes in Wisconsin
Odawa
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Anishinaabe peoples