Back to Native people tribe

Ojibwa cloth

   Summer clothing was buckskin with fur outer garments added for winter. The men wore breechcloths, but both sexes wore leggings. Moccasins were the distinctive puffed seamed style that gave Ojibwe their name. These were often colored with red, yellow, blue, and green, dyes made by the women. Long, cold winters were spent confined inside their wigwams also allowed time to add intricate quill and moose-hair designs. The Ojibwe often passed these times and entertained each other with stories, an art for which they are still renown. Generally, men and women wore their hair long and braided. In times of war, men might change to a scalplock. Ojibwe scalped, but as a rule they killed and did not torture. Like other Great Lakes warriors, there was ritual cannibalism of their dead enemies. Polygamy was rare. Their social organization was based on approximately 15-20 patrilineal clans which extended across band lines and provided their initial sense of tribal unity.

Ojibwe

   Before contact, the clans and a common language were all that bound them to each other as the Anishinabe. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Ojibwe required they separate into small bands moving in a fixed pattern to take advantage of available resources. During winter, they separated into extended families in isolated hunting camps which allowed the men to cover a large area without competition from other hunters. During warmer months, they gathered in bands of 300-400 at known locations where fish, berries, and wild rice were abundant. There was little central organization, and the authority of hereditary Ojibwe chiefs before contact was limited and confined pretty much to his own band. Tribal councils occurred only when several bands made common cause in times of war but otherwise were rare. However, this, changed after the beginning of the fur trade with the French, and the different bands began merging.

Ojibwe

   The Ojibwe were outstanding hunters and trappers. The colder weather in their homeland gave their beaver thicker coats resulting in a high quality fur. The Ojibwe became so heavily involved in the French fur trade their language became the unofficial trade language of the northern Great Lakes. Both the French and Ojibwe prospered as a result. The trade and weapons brought the Ojibwe wealth and power. At the same time, they became dependent on the French and trade goods. Because they handled the dealings with French traders, the authority of Ojibwe chiefs increased. Bands became larger and began to cooperate on a greater scale, especially during the Beaver Wars (1630-1700) with the Iroquois. Traditional ties between their clans added to the new sense of unity and purpose, but trade had also brought them their first experiences with European epidemics.

Ojibwe mother and child, 1908. Northern Minnesota

   Before contact, Ojibwe religion was similar to their political organization. There was little formal ceremony. For healing, they had relied on medicinal herbs gathered by the women and shamans. These were overwhelmed by the new diseases which were deadly beyond anything they had seen. What evolved was the Midewiwin (Grand Medicine Society), a secret religious society. Open to both men and women, its members performed elaborate healing ceremonies to deal with sickness. Among the Ojibwe, the Midewiwin kept records on birchbark scrolls, an actual written record unique among the Great Lakes tribes. Beyond its healing and religious functions, Midewiwin membership crossed band lines and provided an additional element of political leadership binding the different Ojibwe groups to each other. Within 50 years of their first meeting with a European, the Ojibwe had united to become one of the most powerful tribes in North America.

Ojibwe flag

   (Ojibwe-flag.jpg) The most unique feature of the Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe flag is its black background, the only one known amongst Native flags in the entire United States.. On it is centered a colorful seal replete with symbolism. In overview, the seal is enclosed by a three-color set of rings and its interior is quartered, each quarter colored in a different hue, directed at specific cardinal points, and bearing a different animal symbolic of a particular clan. The center of the seal is occupied by a turtle on whose shell are a crane and an ash-tree branch.

   The following description, taken from a pamphlet by Wabun-Anong (Ref 1), starts from the center of the seal and proceeds outward toward the rings circling it. An teal-blue body of a turtle edged in aquamarine occupies the center of the seal.

   "TURTLE represents to our people the Mother Earth we stand upon, sustaining us with constancy and generosity and is the central part of the symbol ... We are cared for by our Earth Mother with her blessings of food, clothing, shelter, and medicine.. We Give thanks to Earth Mother, the direction below us ... Turtle emerged from the water with Earth on its back, providing a living place for human beings and all creatures between sky and water. Turtle is medium of communication, the emissary of beings of this world and time and beings of another world and dimension of time. Turtle symbolizes thought given and thought received and represents clarity of communication between beings. Aqua-green symbolizes plant life and growing things."

   On the back of the turtle a black crane with white body and wing accents prepares to take flight toward the west, and to its left is a mountain-ash branch, shown in black.

   "CRANE represents our people's eloquence of leadership and direction. The voice of the Crane is unique and infrequent . When Crane speaks, all listen. Crane is the spokesperson for the clans. MOUNTAIN-ASH TREE is the sacred tree of the Anishinabek ["our People"], ... able to survive in places where other trees cannot. Its leaves, berries, and bark are used for medicines. The Mountain-Ash is used as an example for strength, durability, and strong character."

Page 1 2

Back to Native people tribe

Back to Top