The Ojibwa

1. The Ojibwa The People of the Falls By: Annette Hynes

2. Background • There are many different spellings/names for the Ojibwa people, including Ojibway, Ojibwe, and Chippewa, but they all mean the same thing. • The Ojibwa speak Central Algonquin. • According to Oral Tradition, the Ojibwa people are originally from the Atlantic, but moved west. • French documents from the 1600s said that the Ojibwa had a population of approximately 4500 people. However, the Ojibwa were so spread out that most ideas about their population was incorrect. • Today, they are the second largest First Nations group in Canada, with a population of approximately 140,000 people.

3. Location • In Canada, specifically Ontario, the Ojibwa people are located north of Lake Superior and Huron, however some live in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the USA, the Ojibwa people can be found in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

4. Appearance • In the Ojibwa tribe, women wore dresses which had removable sleeves. • Men wore breechcloths and leggings, and were known to have tribal tattoos. • Both men and women wore moccasins, animal skins, and both wore their hair in long braids. • Both men and women’s clothing were beaded, as the Ojibwa people were known for their fancy beadwork. • Warriors were often distinguished by wearing an eagle feather in their hair.

5. Housing • In the woodlands, Ojibwa villages were made up of birch bark wigwams which had either pointed or domed roofs. • In the Great Plains, Ojibwa people were nomadic and lived in portable teepees constructed of buffalo hide.

6. Lifestyle • Travel for the Ojibwa people included using birch bark canoes in warm weather and snowshoes in the winter. • Ojibwa women were mostly responsible for child care and cooking, however they were also farmers. • Ojibwa men were hunters, hunting game such as buffalo, deer, and beavers. In the spring they fished, using nets made by the women and by using sharpened sticks. • Both genders were responsible for harvesting wild rice. The Ojibwa men would steer their boats throughout the reeds, while the women would knock and collect the rice grains.

7. Relationships with Other Tribes • The Ojibwa were a part of a confederacy called the Council of the Three Fires with the Ottawa (Odawa) and the Potawatomi. • This group fought with the Iroquois and Sioux frequently. • During the time of the European fur trade, they traded furs with the Nipissing and Algonquin, from whom they received French trade items.

8. How Dogs Came to the Indians • Two Ojibwa Indians in a canoe had been blown far from shore by a great wind. They had gone far and were hungry and lost. They had little strength left to paddle, so they drifted before the wind. • At last their canoe was blown onto a beach and they were glad, but not for long. Looking for the tracks of animals, they saw some huge footprints that they knew must be those of a giant. They were afraid and hid in the bushes. As they crouched low, a big arrow thudded into the ground close beside them. Then a huge giant came toward them. A caribou hung from his belt, but the man was so big that it looked like a rabbit. He told them that he did not hurt people and he like to be a friend to little people, who seemed to the giant to be so helpless. He asked the two lost Indians to come home with him, and since they had no food and their weapons had been lost in the storm at sea, they were glad to go with him. • An evil Windigo spirit came to the lodge of the giant and told the two men that the giant had other men hidden away in the forest because he like to eat them. The Windigo pretended to be a friend, but he was the one who wanted the men because he was an eater of people. The Windigo became very angry when the giant would not give him the two men, and finally the giant became angry too. He took a big stick and turned over a big bowl with it.

9. A strange animal which the Indians had never seen before lay on the floor, looking up at them. It looked like a wolf to them, but the giant called the animal 'Dog.' The giant told him to kill the evil Windigospirit. The beast sprang to its feet, shook himself, and started to grow, and grow, and grow. The more he shook himself, the more he grew and the fiercer he became. He sprang at the Windigoand killed him; then the dog grew smaller and smaller and crept under the bowl. • The giant saw that the Indians were much surprised and pleased with Dog and said that he would give it to them, though it was his pet. He told the men that he would command Dog to take them home. They had no idea how this could be done, though they had seen that the giant was a maker of magic, but they thanked the friendly giant for his great gift. • The giant took the men and the dog to the seashore and gave the dog a command. At once it began to grow bigger and bigger, until it was nearly as big as a horse. The giant put the two men onto the back of the dog and told them to hold on very tightly. As Dog ran into the sea, he grew still bigger and when the water was deep enough he started to swim strongly away from the shore. • After a very long time, the two Ojibwa began to see a part of the seacoast that they knew, and soon the dog headed for shore. As he neared the beach, he became smaller and smaller so that the Indians had to swim for the last part of their journey. The dog left them close to their lodges and disappeared into the forest. When the men told their tribe of their adventure, the people though that the men were speaking falsely. "Show us even the little mystery animal, Dog, and we shall believe you," a chief said. • A few moons came and went and then, one morning while the tribe slept, the dog returned to the two men. It allowed them to pet it and took food from their hands. The tribe was very much surprised to see this new creature. It stayed with the tribe. • That, as the Indians tell, was how the first dog came to the earth.

10. Spirituality • Before European contact, the Ojibwa “religion” had very few formal ceremonies. • For healing, medicinal herbs were gathered by women and Shamans. However, over time diseases evolved and became difficult to treat with such simple treatments. This caused the creation of the Midewiwin, or the Grand Medicine Society. • The Grand Medicine Society was a secret religious group of men and women who performed detailed healing ceremonies to deal with the new diseases. • Like other tribes, the Ojibwa were animistic, meaning they believed that all living things had a soul or spirit. • They believed that spirits guided them through life. • They also participated in an event hosted by the Huron known as the Feast of the Dead. The Feast of the Dead was held every decade or so when a large village changed its location. Any bodies of those who had died non-violent deaths were taken from their tombs and then reburied all together in one massive grave or ossuary.

11. Historical Events • 1600s: First contact for the Ojibwa with Europeans. • 1680-1800: The Ojibwa separated into four divisions, the ones who moved to the forests of Northern Ontario and Manitoba were known as the Northern Ojibwa. • 1760: The Ojibwa supported the French, but during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, they became British allies.

12. Unique Items of Heritage • The Ojibwa were the creators of the dream catcher. • They believed that if a dream catcher was hung above the head of a sleeping person, all bad dreams would be caught and would be unable to reach the dreaming person. • Traditionally, only children were permitted to use dream catchers, as they believed that adults should interpret any dream whether it be good or bad and use it in their lives.

13. Links • http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/ojibwa • www.bigorrin.org/chippewa_kids.htm • http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Ojibwa.html#b • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe_people • http://www.essiac-tea-herbal-remedies.com/ojibwe-people.html • http://projectojibwa.ca/project/hmcs-ojibwa/her-name/council-of-the-three-fires.aspx • http://www.tolatsga.org/ojib.html