The Ojibwa were once a large and powerful Native American tribe. They traditionally lived in a large territory in the Great Lakes region, especially along the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior. The Ojibwa in the United States are often called the Chippewa. In certain areas of Canada the Ojibwa are referred to as the Mississauga and the Saulteaux. Many Ojibwa prefer to be called Anishinabe, meaning “first people.”

Society and culture

The Ojibwa traditionally obtained food in many different ways. Women tended small gardens of corn (maize), beans, pumpkins, and squash, while men hunted and fished. The Ojibwa also gathered wild plant foods.

Tribe members lived in permanent villages full of dome-shaped houses made from wood and birch bark. They also used birch bark to make storage containers and lightweight canoes. Traveling in canoes, hunters stalked ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. Women also rode in canoes while gathering wild rice, a grass that grows in water. They used paddles to knock grains of rice off the plants and into the boat.

The religious life of the Ojibwa centered on the Midewiwin, the Grand Medicine Society. This secret religious organization was open to men and women willing to undergo a long period of instruction. Records of the Grand Medicine Society were preserved in picture writing on birch-bark scrolls. Members of the Midewiwin called on spirits to heal the sick and hurt the tribe's enemies. The Ojibwa believed powerful spirits were present in all things, both living and nonliving.

History

Before the coming of non-Indians, the Ojibwa were part of a larger Indian group that also included the Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes. The first Europeans to meet the Ojibwa were French explorers who arrived in 1622. The tribe became military allies and trading partners of the French, trading furs for European goods. In the mid-17th century the Ojibwa used guns they had received from the French to defend their hunting grounds from invasion by the Iroquois, who were allies of the English.

In the American Revolution (1775–83) the Ojibwa sided with the English against the Americans. After the American victory, the tribe was forced to surrender much of its land and move to small reservations. Although some Ojibwa adopted American ways, many of their traditional customs survived. In 1968 Dennis Banks and two other Ojibwa founded the American Indian Movement (AIM), an activist group.

In the late 20th century more than 100,000 Ojibwa lived in the United States, making the tribe one of the largest in the country. Many live on the tribe's reservations in Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Another 75,000 Ojibwa live in Canada. Land is reserved for their use in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.