 |
| 1681 Obtossaway, an Ojibwe Chief, 1903 |
Posted on 19.06.2015, 24.06.2015, 13.11.2015, 21.08.2016, 08.10.2016, 15.10.2016
The
Ojibwe (or Chippewa) are a large group of
First Nations and
Native Americans in
Canada and the
United States. In Canada, they are the second-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by the
Cree, and in the United States they have the fourth-largest population among Native American tribes, surpassed only by the
Navajo,
Cherokee and
Lakota. They are a major component group of the
Anishinaabe-speaking peoples, a branch of the
Algonquian language family. The Anishinaabe peoples include the
Algonquin,
Nipissing,
Oji-Cree,
Odawa and the
Potawatomi.
 |
| 1688 Arrowmaker, an Ojibwe Brave, 1903 |
Because many Ojibwe were formerly located around the outlet of
Lake Superior, called
Sault Ste. Marie by the French colonists, they referred to the Ojibwe as
Saulteurs. Ojibwe who subsequently moved to the prairie provinces of Canada have retained the name
Saulteaux. Ojibwe who were originally located along the
Mississagi River and made their way to southern
Ontario are known as the
Mississaugas. The majority of the Ojibwe peoples live in Canada. There are 77,940 mainline Ojibwe; 76,760
Saulteaux and 8,770
Mississaugas, organized in 125 bands, and living from western
Quebec to eastern
British Columbia. Ojibwe in the U.S. number over 56,440, living in an area stretching across the northern tier from
New York west to
Montana.
 |
2695 Two Chippewa Maidens
in Eau Claire (Wisconsin), cca. 1950 |
The Ojibwe are historically known for their crafting of birch bark
canoes, their sacred birch bark scrolls, the use of cowrie shells for
trading, the cultivation of wild rice, and the use of copper arrow
points. They live in groups (otherwise known as "bands"). Most Ojibwe,
except for the
Great Plains
bands, lived a sedentary lifestyle, engaging in fishing and hunting to
supplement the women's cultivation of numerous varieties of maize and
squash, and the harvesting of
manoomin (wild rice). They developed a
form of pictorial writing, used in religious rites of the Midewiwin and
recorded on birch bark scrolls and possibly on rock.
 |
| 2807 A Chippewa maiden |
The Ojibwe people were divided into a number of
odoodeman (clans; singular:
doodem) named primarily for animals and birds totems (pronounced
doodem).
Traditionally, they 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 and Ojibwe
society unless adopted by an Ojibwe male. The Ojibwe have a number of
spiritual beliefs passed down by oral tradition under the Midewiwin
teachings. Teaching lodges are common today to teach the next
generations about the language and ancient ways of the past. The
traditional ways, ideas, and teachings are preserved and practiced in
such living ceremonies.
 |
| 2825 Chippewa in Hayward, Wisconsin |
Shingabawossin (from the Ojibwe:
zhingaabewasin - "image stone") (c. 1763 - c. 1830) was an Ojibwa chief (of the Crane
doodem) about
Sault Ste. Marie,
formerly a single settlement from 1668 to 1817, then a cross-border
region in Canada and the United States. He was the grandson of
Gi-chi-o-jee-de-bun and the oldest of the nine son of Naid-o-sa-gee's
family, consisting of about 20 children in all from four wives. Chief
Shingabawossin had one wife and twelve children.
 |
| 2032 Chief Shingabawossin, 1826 |
He participated in the 1783 Battle of St. Croix Falls, under the leadership of La Pointe Chief
Waubojeeg. During the
War of 1812, he was enlisted by the British to fight against the Americans and went to
York to join
Tecumseh's War. He was prominent during the first quarter of the 19th century, thus taking part as a signatory to the important treaties. Often, he was the leading speaker and usually the most important person among the Ojibwa delegates.
