According to Ojibwe oral history & from recordings in birch bark scrolls, the Ojibwe originated from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River on the Atlantic coast of what is now Quebec. They traded widely with other Native Americans across the continent for thousands of years as they migrated, & knew of the canoe routes to move north, west to east, & then south in the Americas. The identification of the Ojibwe as a culture or people may have occurred in response to contact with Europeans. The Europeans preferred to deal with bounded groups & tried to identify those they encountered.
According to Ojibwe oral history, 7 great miigis (radiant/iridescent) beings appeared to them in the Waabanakiing (Land of the Dawn, i.e., Eastern Land) to teach them the mide way of life. One of the 7 great miigis beings was too spiritually powerful & killed the people in the Waabanakiing, when they were in its presence. The 6 great miigis beings remained to teach, while the one returned into the ocean. The 6 great miigis beings established doodem (clans) for people in the east, symbolized by animal, fish or bird species. The five original Anishinaabe doodem were the Wawaazisii (Bullhead), Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker, i.e., Crane), Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck), Nooke (Tender, i.e., Bear) & Moozoonsii (Little Moose), then these six miigis beings returned into the ocean as well. If the 7th miigis being had stayed, it would have established the Thunderbird doodem.
At a later time, one of these miigis appeared in a vision to relate a prophecy. It said that if the Anishinaabeg did not move further west, they would not be able to keep their traditional ways alive because of the many new pale-skinned settlers who would arrive soon in the east. Their migration path would be symbolized by a series of smaller Turtle Islands, which was confirmed with miigis shells (i.e., cowry shells). After receiving assurance from their "Allied Brothers" (i.e., Mi'kmaq) & "Father" (i.e., Abenaki) of their safety to move inland, the Anishinaabeg gradually migrated west along the Saint Lawrence River to the Ottawa River to Lake Nipissing, & then to the Great Lakes.
The 1st of the smaller Turtle Islands was Mooniyaa, where Mooniyaang (present-day Montreal) developed. The "second stopping place" was in the vicinity of the Wayaanag-gakaabikaa (Concave Waterfalls, i.e., Niagara Falls). At their "third stopping place," near the present-day city of Detroit, Michigan, the Anishinaabeg divided into 6 groups, of which the Ojibwe was one.
The first significant new Ojibwe culture-center was their "4th stopping place" on Manidoo Minising (Manitoulin Island). Their first new political-center was referred to as their "5th stopping place", in their present country at Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie). Continuing their westward expansion, the Ojibwe divided into the "northern branch", following the north shore of Lake Superior, & the "southern branch", along its south shore.
As the people continued to migrate westward, the "northern branch" divided into a "westerly group" & a "southerly group". The "southern branch" & the "southerly group" of the "northern branch" came together at their "sixth stopping place" on Spirit Island located in the Saint Louis River estuary at the western end of Lake Superior. (present-day Duluth/Superior cities.) The people were directed in a vision by the miigis being to go to the "place where there is food (i.e., wild rice) upon the waters." Their 2nd major settlement, referred to as their "7th stopping place", was at Shaugawaumikong (or Zhaagawaamikong, French, Chequamegon) on the southern shore of Lake Superior, near the present La Pointe, Wisconsin.
The "westerly group" of the "northern branch" migrated along the Rainy River, Red River of the North, & across the northern Great Plains until reaching the Pacific Northwest. Along their migration to the west, they came across many miigis, or cowry shells, as told in the prophecy.
Interaction with Europeans
The first written mention of the Ojibwe occurs in the French Jesuit Relation of 1640, a report by the missionary priests to their superiors in France. Through their friendship with the French traders (coureurs des bois & voyageurs), the Ojibwe gained guns, began to use European goods, & began to dominate their traditional enemies, the Lakota & Fox to their west & south. They drove the Sioux from the Upper Mississippi region to the area of the present-day Dakotas, & forced the Fox down from northern Wisconsin. The latter allied with the Sauk for protection.
By the end of the 18C, the Ojibwe controlled nearly all of present-day Michigan, northern Wisconsin, & Minnesota, including most of the Red River area. They also controlled the entire northern shores of lakes Huron & Superior on the Canadian side & extending westward to the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota. In the latter area, the French Canadians called them Ojibwe or Saulteaux.
The Ojibwe (Chippewa) were part of a long-term alliance with the Anishinaabe Ottawa & Potawatomi peoples, called the Council of Three Fires. They fought against the Iroquois Confederacy, based mainly to the southeast of the Great Lakes in present-day New York, & the Sioux to the west. The Ojibwa stopped the Iroquois advance into their territory near Lake Superior in 1662. Then they formed an alliance with other tribes such as the Huron & the Ottawa who had been displaced by the Iroquois invasion. Together they launched a massive counter attack against the Iroquois & drove them out of Michigan & Southern Ontario, until they were forced to flee back to their original homeland in upstate New York. At the same time the Iroquois were subjected to attacks by the French. This was the beginning of the end of the Iroquois Confederacy as they were put on the defensive. The Ojibwe expanded eastward, taking over the lands along the eastern shores of Lake Huron & Georgian Bay.
Often, treaties known as "Peace & Friendship Treaties" were made to establish community bonds between the Ojibwe & the European settlers. These established the groundwork for cooperative resource-sharing between the Ojibwe & the settlers. The United States & Canada viewed later treaties offering land cessions as offering territorial advantages. The Ojibwe did not understand the land cession terms in the same way because of the cultural differences in understanding the uses of land. The governments of the US & Canada considered land a commodity of value that could be freely bought, owned & sold.
The Ojibwe believed the land was a fully shared resource, along with air, water & sunlight—despite having an understanding of "territory". At the time of the treaty councils, they could not conceive of separate land sales or exclusive ownership of land. Consequently, even today, in both Canada & the US, legal arguments in treaty-rights & treaty interpretations often bring to light the differences in cultural understanding of treaty terms to come to legal understanding of the treaty obligations.
In part due to its long trading alliance, the Ojibwe allied with the French against Great Britain & its colonists in the Seven Years' War (also called the French & Indian War). After losing the war in 1763, France was forced to cede its colonial claims to lands in Canada & east of the Mississippi River to Britain. After Pontiac's War & adjusting to British colonial rule, the Ojibwe allied with British forces & against the United States in the War of 1812. They had hoped that a British victory could protect them against United States settlers' encroachment on their territory.
Following the war, the United States government tried to forcibly remove all the Ojibwe to Minnesota, west of the Mississippi River. The Ojibwe resisted, & there were violent confrontations. In the Sandy Lake Tragedy, several hundred Ojibwe died because of the federal government's failure to deliver fall annuity payments. Through the efforts of Chief Buffalo & the rise of popular opinion in the US against Ojibwe removal, the bands east of the Mississippi were allowed to return to reservations on ceded territory. A few families were removed to Kansas as part of the Potawatomi removal.
Plains Ojibwe Chief Sha-có-pay (The Six). In addition to the northern & eastern woodlands, Ojibwe people also lived on the prairies of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North Dakota, western Minnesota & Montana.
In British North America, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 following the Seven Years' War governed the cession of land by treaty or purchase . Subsequently, France ceded most of the land in Upper Canada to Great Britain. Even with the Jay Treaty signed between Great Britain & the United States following the American Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States did not fully uphold the treaty. As it was still preoccupied by war with France, Great Britain ceded to the United States much of the lands in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, parts of Illinois & Wisconsin, & northern Minnesota & North Dakota to settle the boundary of their holdings in Canada.
In 1807, the Ojibwe joined 3 other tribes, the Odawa, Potawatomi & Wyandot people, in signing the Treaty of Detroit. The agreement, between the tribes & William Hull, representing the Michigan Territory, gave the United States a portion of today's Southeastern Michigan & a section of Ohio near the Maumee River. The tribes were able to retain small pockets of land in the territory.
During its Indian Removal of the 1830s, the US government attempted to relocate tribes from the east to the west of the Mississippi River as the white pioneers increasingly migrated west. By the late 19th century, the government policy was to move tribes onto reservations within their territories. The government attempted to do this to the Anishinaabe in the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The Ojibwe live in groups (otherwise known as "bands"). Most Ojibwe, except for the Great Plains bands, lived a sedentary lifestyle, engaging in fishing & hunting to supplement the women's cultivation of numerous varieties of maize & squash, & the harvesting of manoomin (wild rice). Their typical dwelling was the wiigiwaam (wigwam), built either as a waginogaan (domed-lodge) or as a nasawa'ogaan (pointed-lodge), made of birch bark, juniper bark & willow saplings.
They developed a form of pictorial writing, used in religious rites of the Midewiwin & recorded on birch bark scrolls & possibly on rock. The many complex pictures on the sacred scrolls communicate much historical, geometrical, & mathematical knowledge. The use of petroforms, petroglyphs, & pictographs was common throughout the Ojibwe traditional territories. Petroforms & medicine wheels were a way to teach the important concepts of 4 directions & astronomical observations about the seasons, & to use as a memorizing tool for certain stories & beliefs.
Ceremonies also used the miigis shell (cowry shell), which is found naturally in distant coastal areas. Their use of such shells demonstrates there was a vast trade network across the continent at some time. The use & trade of copper across the continent has also been proof of a large trading network that took place for thousands of years, as far back as the Hopewell tradition. Certain types of rock used for spear & arrow heads were also traded over large distances.
During the summer months, the people attend jiingotamog for the spiritual & niimi'idimaa for a social gathering (pow-wows or "pau waus") at various reservations in the Anishinaabe-Aki (Anishinaabe Country). Many people still follow the traditional ways of harvesting wild rice, picking berries, hunting, making medicines, & making maple sugar. Many of the Ojibwe take part in sun dance ceremonies across the continent. The sacred scrolls are kept hidden away until those who are worthy & respect them are given permission to see & interpret them properly.
The Ojibwe would not bury their dead in a burial mound. Many erect a jiibegamig or a "spirit-house" over each mound. A traditional burial mound would typically have a wooden marker, inscribed with the deceased's doodem (clan sign). Because of the distinct features of these burials, Ojibwe graves have been often looted by grave robbers.
As with various other North American peoples, the Ojibwe culture includes a third gender. Ojibwe Two-Spirit women take on men's roles, classified as either "Iron Woman" or "Half Sky". Generally, two-spirit men practiced Shamanism & it was taboo for women to take on this role, but a two-spirit following this path was called an Iron Woman. The Half Sky two-spirit would be physically good at a man's trade (like hunting). Also, there is an instance when a wife becomes a widow & takes on her husband's manly deeds; this woman is called a "Woman Covered All Over". (Landes 153, 176, 178-179, & Merriam- Webster Dictionary).
Several Ojibwe bands in the United States cooperate in the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, which manages the treaty hunting & fishing rights in the Lake Superior-Lake Michigan areas. The commission follows the directives of U.S. agencies to run several wilderness areas. Some Minnesota Ojibwe tribal councils cooperate in the 1854 Treaty Authority, which manages their treaty hunting & fishing rights in the Arrowhead Region. In Michigan, the Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority manages the hunting, fishing & gathering rights about Sault Ste. Marie, & the resources of the waters of lakes Michigan & Huron. In Canada, the Grand Council of Treaty No. 3 manages the Treaty 3 hunting & fishing rights related to the area around Lake of the Woods.
Evolution of the Kinship & Clan system
Traditionally, the Ojibwe had a patrilineal system, in which children were considered born to the father's clan. For this reason, children with French or English fathers were considered outside the clan & Ojibwe society unless adopted by an Ojibwe male. They were sometimes referred to as "white" because of their fathers, regardless if their mothers were Ojibwe, as they had no official place in the Ojibwe society. The people would shelter the woman & her children, but they did not have the same place in the culture as children born to Ojibwe fathers.
Ojibwe understanding of kinship is complex, & includes not only the immediate family but also the extended family. It is considered a modified bifurcate merging kinship system. As with any bifurcate-merging kinship system, siblings generally share the same kinship term with parallel cousins because they are all part of the same clan. The modified system allows for younger siblings to share the same kinship term with younger cross-cousins. Complexity wanes further from the speaker's immediate generation, but some complexity is retained with female relatives. For example, ninooshenh is "my mother's sister" or "my father's sister-in-law"—i.e., my parallel-aunt, but also "my parent's female cross-cousin". Great-grandparents & older generations, as well as great-grandchildren & younger generations, are collectively called aanikoobijigan. This system of kinship reflects the Anishinaabe philosophy of interconnectedness & balance among all living generations, as well as of all generations of the past & of the future.
The Ojibwe people were divided into a number of odoodeman (clans; singular: doodem) named primarily for animals & birds totems (pronounced doodem). The five original totems were Wawaazisii (Bullhead), Baswenaazhi ("Echo-maker", i.e., Crane), Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck), Nooke ("Tender", i.e., Bear) & Moozwaanowe ("Little" Moose-tail). The Crane totem was the most vocal among the Ojibwe, & the Bear was the largest – so large, that it was sub-divided into body parts such as the head, the ribs & the feet. Each clan had certain responsibilities among the people. People had to marry a spouse from a different clan.
Traditionally, each band had a self-regulating council consisting of leaders of the communities' clans, or odoodemaan. The band was often identified by the principal doodem. In meeting others, the traditional greeting among the Ojibwe people is, "What is your 'doodem'?" ("Aaniin gidoodem?" or "Awanen gidoodem?") The response allows the parties to establish social conduct by identifying as family, friends or enemies. Today, the greeting has been shortened to "Aanii". Pronounced; (Ah-nee)
