Nishnaabe

The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississaugas, Nipissing and Algonquin peoples. The Anishinaabe speak ''Anishinaabemowin'', or Anishinaabe languages that belong to the Algonquian language family.

At the time of first contact with Europeans they lived in the Northeast Woodlands and Subarctic, and some have since spread to the Great Plains.

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, or Great Spirit. Basil Johnston, 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. However, Anishinaabe refers to a much larger group of tribes.

Name

ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯ ''Anishinaabe'' has many different spellings. Different spelling systems may indicate vowel length 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 cognate ''Neshnabé'' comes from the Potawatomi, a people long allied with the Odawa and Ojibwe in the Council of Three Fires. The Nipissing, Mississaugas, 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 for the group is '' Saulteaux''). 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

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.

''Anishinaabe'' oral tradition and records of ''wiigwaasabak'' (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. 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, 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 that grew on the lakes in the Great 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, within the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania 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 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'' 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''. 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, Michigan and Wisconsin. The French were mainly trappers 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 exonyms 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), ''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 victorious English took over the fort, also using it as a trading post.

Through the totem-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 and the War of 1812, 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 policy of the United States; among the Anishinaabeg, the Potawatomi were most affected. The Odawa 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 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 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 in 1885, some 32 years after his early death from tuberculosis. 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, Fox, 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, 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, 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, the Anishinaabe of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have opposed the Energy East pipeline 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

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. 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 educator Edward Benton-Banai, 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 and domestic violence 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, Raven, Wesakejac, Nanabozo, and Glooscap. 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 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 canoes and traded widely.

The Anishinaabe practised cannibalism, sometimes boiling and eating their foes after battles. They also practised slavery, usually as a way to "cover their dead".

Their kinship was patrilineal 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 and even occasionally Sioux.

Education

In June 1994, the Chiefs at the Anishinabek Grand Council gathering at Rocky Bay First Nation, directed that the Education Directorate formally establish the Anishinabek Education Institute (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 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
* 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 Knowledge
by the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton University
''Ojibwe: Waasa-Inaabidaa''
a six-part documentary series by PBS

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