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Researched by Holli S. |
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Definition
The Ojibwa Indian Tribe was and still is the largest and most powerful
tribe in North America. They live around the shores of Lake Superior.
Their other name, “Chippewa,“ stands for the puckered seam on their
moccasins. They called themselves “Anishabe”, which means “First men.”
History
The Ojibwa originated from the St. Lawrence River area. They migrated
west to the shores of Lake Superior. They traveled with the
Pottawatomie and the Ottawa. The Pottawatomie and Ottawa stopped but
the Ojibwa kept going farther west. The three remained allies and
became the Council of Three Fires. When they stopped the great spirits
told them when to stop and when to keep going.
The Ojibwa had more than one name that they were known by: Chippeway,
Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, and, Otchippewa. The most common names are
Ojibwa, Ojibway, and Chippewa.
The Ojibwa were big participators in the fur trade business. Traders
first knew them in the mid 17th century. They traded away small white
shells that were called megis shells as well as furs. The most popular
furs to trade with were the otter, marten, beaver, fox, mink, wolf, and
bear. The items they got in return were usually made out of metal. Here
are some examples of the items: knives, fishhooks, pots, pans, and
needles. They were the first to receive firearms from the French.
The Ojibwa were the first Indian tribe to be allies with the French.
They drove the Sioux to the Great Plains area from where they were.
They also drove the Sac, Fox, and Kikapoos to Wisconsin. Later they
fought alongside the French in the Indian wars. They were allies of the
British in the Revolutionary War. After that various Ojibwa tribes
occupied the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and North Dakota.
Culture
The Ojibwa did not live in cities or towns like we do. They lived in
clans, which were like family villages. They lived together by the
relationship of their father. Each clan had a totem pole that
represented the clan. The clans got their names from the animals that
they ate and used for fur. A few clan names are moose, deer, bear,
salmon, and bass.
The Ojibwa participated in a club called the Miedewin Society, which
was about medicine, health, and healing. Entry into the club was very
hard because members were only selected once a year. The members had to
believe that all living things had a spirit. Today the society believes
in Christianity and it is easier to get into the Miedewin Society.
Childhood
To be successful when they became an adult Ojibwa children needed some
training.
They had to learn about their jobs and responsibilities. They started
learning this from their parents by watching and observing. At the age
of six the children began learning the ways, culture, and history of
the Ojibwa. At age seven girls learned the art of beadwork and sewing.
Boys at seven learned to use a slingshot and how to ride a horse. Today
they learn the same things plus writing, math, history, and reading.
When the elders in the tribe and the parents thought the kids were
ready they were sent out into the woods or surrounding fields by
themselves. They were sent out with no food or water. They would be
isolated until they were starving and a spirit called a Maker came, in
the form of an animal, and told them how to make medicine to survive in
life. Then they would go back to the tribe and tell the story of the
spirit coming and talking to them. When the children were older they
could summon the spirit anytime they needed guidance in life.
A game that the children and adults liked to play was Lacrosse. There
were eight players on the field who had sticks with a small bag at the
end. The object of the game was to either carry or push a ball into a
goal. There was also an extra player who was a goalie who tried to stop
the ball from going in the goal.
Housing
The Ojibwas lived in houses called wigwams. The wigwams were made out
of birch bark and were used only in the summer. The men went out to
find a good birch tree to make a house out of. Once they found a good
tree they laid tobacco in front of it to make an offering to the
spirits of the tree. If the next day the tobacco was gone it meant that
the spirits had accepted the offering and the tribe could use the tree.
The men then cut the tree down and took the bark off. They then soaked
the bark in water to make it more pliable. They bent the bark over a
frame that was made out of the wood of the birch tree. In the winter
the Ojibwas lived in a cabin. The cabin usually had two rooms. One was
a kitchen type room and the other was where they slept. In the cabin
there was a little hideout where the food was stored. During the winter
the food was scarse so the Ojibwa had to eat very little food everyday.
There was a celebration even if a rabbit was brought home.
Food
The Ojibwa ate a variety of different foods. Their most plentiful food
was wild rice. They believed it was from the great spirit called Monco
and called it “The Food that grows on water.” The way rice was gathered
was that the men went out on the lake in canoes. They came up to the
stalks and hit the grain heads into the canoe with the oar. They went
back to shore and gave the rice to the women. The women then put it
onto rocks to dry out. Next they hit it with a piece of wood to release
the kernel from the outer shell. Last they stored the kernels in an
animal skin bag. The way they prepared it for eating was by putting a
little bit of water in the bag it was stored in every three minutes
while two sticks held it up over the open fire.
Another type of food that the Ojibwa ate was maple sugar and syrup. The
women went into the woods and collected sap from maple trees. They
spread it out on a flat rock and let it dry. They then stirred the
drying syrup and let it dry some more. For regular syrup they got the
sap and boiled it for five minutes over the fire.
Another type of food the Ojibwa ate was meat, including venison (deer
meat), buffalo, fish, and bear. The men killed the animals with bows or
trapped them and killed them by hitting sharp rocks on their heads. For
fish they went out on the lake in canoes and caught them with poles or
nets. They cooked the meat by using two vertical sticks that had forks
in them and putting a pole that had the meat on it in the forks. This
system of cooking is called a spit. Every five minutes the meat was
turned until it was fully cooked.
Dress
The Ojibwa wore their traditional clothing every day, but they only
wear it for special occasions today. The women would take the hide and
skin from the animals that the men killed and make it into clothing.
They would put the skin on a stretcher and scrape all the entrails and
other things off the skin. Then for the fur they would comb through it
over and over again until it was soft. They would then make clothing
out of them and sew it with needles and strings from the traders. In
the winter other furs and skins would be made into a big fur coat that
was lined with rabbit fur. The fur and skin were also used to make
moccasins. They were then decorated with beads made from the natural
surroundings. The women of the tribe had to make new moccasins about
every three months.
Transportation
The Ojibwas had many methods of transportation. They used canoes the
most. Every family owned at least two probably more. The canoes were
used to collect wild rice (which was their most plentiful food) from
the stalks on the top of the lake.
The next mode of transportation they used was the horse. When the
Spanish started to move into American land, they brought horses.
Sometimes the horses would roam into Ojibwa land and the Ojibwa would
capture them.
The last mode of transportation was walking. When the Ojibwa had no
other ways of transportation because there was no river or they had no
horses, they were forced to use their feet to walk very long distances
at one time.
Women
The women in the Ojibwa tribes were just as important as the men were.
They prepared all the food that the men brought from the river,
streams, plains, and forests. They boiled pond water for drinking and
preparing food. The women worked all the sap into sugar or clean maple
syrup. They also sewed all of the fur, hide, and skin from the animals
the men killed. They sewed many things from the animals such as:
moccasins, winter coats, leggings, and skin pouches to carry items like
medicine in. The women also found beads to decorate clothing with the
natural surroundings. They used shells, beads they got from trading
Megis shells, and bits of glass they found on the shore of Lake
Superior. The women made all the Indian artifacts and found all of the
shells.
Men
The men also played a big part in the Ojibwa way of living. They went
out on the water in canoes and collected wild rice. They also killed
all of the animals that were needed for food or clothing. Capturing and
spearing in the back killed some of the large animals. The men were the
members of the tribe who talked to the traders, trying to get a good
deal. The men mashed up all of the items that were used in making
medicine.
Tools
There were many different tools that the Ojibwa used. The women used an
item called a stretcher. The fur of an animal was put on four sticks
and stretched out. They then scraped all the entrails out with a flat
bone or stick. The men made weapons from bones and rocks. For bows,
they bent a wet stick and tied a piece of string around the two ends.
For arrows they started out by using a rock and sharpening another rock
to make the point, an arrowhead. They would then tie the arrowhead to
the end of a skinny stick. For canoes the Ojibwa took a piece of wood
and scraped out the wood that was inside of a wet tree. For a knife a
sharp piece of rock or bone was attached to a piece of wood.
Future
The future of the Ojibwa Indian tribe is a mystery. One thing that
might happen is that they will start to learn the way of their
ancestors and about the way they lived. They are trying to make this
happen but it is unknown if and when it will start.
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