I.

Introduction

Ojibwa or Chippewa, Native Americans of the Algonquian language family and of the Northeast, Subarctic, and Great Plains culture areas. During the colonial period, the Ojibwa were one of the largest and most powerful tribes on the continent. Their extensive territory included much of the western Great Lakes region and reached well into southern Canada.

The name Ojibwa (pronounced oh-JIB-wuh), along with its variations, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Chippewa, and Chippeway, means “puckered up” and probably refers to a puckered seam in the style of moccasins tribal members wore. Their native name Anishinabe (pronounced ah-nish-ih-NAH-bay) means “first people.”

II.

History

According to their oral tradition, the Ojibwa originally emigrated from the region of the St. Lawrence River in the east, in company with the related Ottawa and Potawatomi peoples. The three tribes separated at what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, the Ojibwa spreading west over a vast area along the shores of Lake Superior while the two other tribes settled to the south. The Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi remained allies through much of their history, united in the Council of Three Fires.

The Ojibwa did not have extensive relations with the early European explorers and settlers. They became known to Europeans in the mid-17th century, when they lived within a narrow area along the shore of Lake Superior, confined there by the incursions of the Sioux and Fox. They were active in the fur trade, mostly with the French. After acquiring firearms from the French around 1690, the Ojibwa drove off their enemies and greatly expanded their territory. They supported the French against the English in the various wars fought in North America, including King William’s War (1689-1697), Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), King George’s War (1744-1748), and the French and Indian War (1754-1763).

In 1763 the Ojibwa joined an alliance of tribes led by the Ottawa chief Pontiac in a revolt against the British. In the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the War of 1812, however, they sided with the British against the Americans. In 1815 they joined with other tribes in signing a treaty of peace with the United States government. Under the terms of subsequent treaties, they were forced to cede most of their territory.

III.

Culture

Historically, the Ojibwa were not a single tribe in the political sense. Rather, they were organized into a large number of bands or subtribes sharing language and culture. Among these bands, however, customs varied. Some northern Ojibwa bands lived a lifestyle typical of tribes of the Subarctic culture area. Others eventually moved to the Great Plains and adopted the Plains Indian lifestyle, becoming known as the Plains Ojibwa. Ojibwa bands were divided into permanent clans. Originally, the clans were subdivided into five phratries, or groups, from which more than 20 clans developed. One of the clans claimed the hereditary chieftainship of the entire tribe; another claimed precedence in the councils of war.

The economy of the Ojibwa was based on hunting and fishing, as well as farming corn, beans, and squash, and the gathering of wild fruits and seeds, particularly the abundant wild rice (a plant of the grass family with a seed resembling rice). The Ojibwa also made sugar from maple syrup. Housing consisted of wigwams constructed with pole frames, typically covered with birchbark. Tribal members traveled through the many lakes and rivers in their forested homelands in light birchbark canoes, practical for portages between waterways. Birchbark sheets were also used for keeping pictographic records of tribal affairs. Ojibwa mythology was elaborate; the chief religious and superstitious rites centered around the Medewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society.

IV.

Contemporary Life

The Ojibwa are still spread out over a wide area, with reservation lands in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Many have chosen to live in urban areas in the American Midwest and central Canada. Some tribal members earn a living through hunting, fishing, and the making of traditional arts and crafts. Others have become integrated into mainstream culture as professionals. A number of Ojibwa have been active in the struggle for Indian political, social, and economic rights as part of the American Indian Movement (AIM), founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1968. In the 2000 U.S. census about 106,000 people identified themselves as Ojibwa or Chippewa only; an additional 44,000 people reported being part Ojibwa or Chippewa. In 2001 there were about 15,000 people of Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Anishinabe origin in Canada.