Ojibwa
The Ojibwa, also known as Chippewa, Mississauga, and Saulteaux, are a Native American people originally residing in regions along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, the north shore of Lake Huron, and parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Historically, they were organized into small, mobile bands that engaged in seasonal hunting, fishing, and trading, with no overarching political structure uniting them. The arrival of European explorers and traders in the early 1600s significantly impacted their society, leading to both challenges and adaptations, including increased involvement in the fur trade.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Ojibwa faced land cessions to British and then American governments, resulting in their confinement to reservations while many adapted through agriculture and wage labor. Traditional societal roles were defined by success as warriors or leaders, with strong kinship ties and cultural practices, such as vision quests for adolescents and a deep spiritual connection to the world. In the 20th century, urban migration increased, and economic opportunities emerged, particularly during World War II.
Ojibwa activism grew in response to historical injustices and treaty violations, with ongoing efforts for federal recognition and restitution, highlighting their resilience and commitment to preserving their culture and rights.
Ojibwa
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upper Great Lakes area, southern Ontario
POPULATION SIZE: 320,000 total (2022, Native Hope); estimated 92,220 in Canada (Statistics Canada 2022)
The Ojibwa (Ojibwe; Chippewa), ancestors of today’s Chippewa, Ojibwa, Mississauga, and Saulteaux, resided along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, the north shore of Lake Huron, and west onto Michigan’s Upper Peninsula before European contact. Changing residence with the seasons, they depended on hunting, fishing, and trading. The Ojibwa's basic sociopolitical units were small bands that traveled after game. No overall political organization united the bands. In the early 1600s, the Ojibwa encountered Samuel de Champlain, Jesuit missionaries, and coureurs de bois (French trappers).
After 1650, the Ojibwa suffered setbacks from Iroquois raiders, and their population declined substantially; however, they recovered before the century ended and pushed their way south, actively involved in the fur trade. Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac helped draw the Ojibwa south by establishing Detroit in 1701. One effect of the fur trade was a growth in band populations and concentrations around trading posts; another was an expansion of the band leader’s authority and the evolution of the leader into a hereditary position. The Ojibwa joined Pontiac in his war against the British in 1763.
In the late 1700s, Ojibwa began ceding land to the British and then to the Americans in the 1800s. Between the 1820s and 1860s, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Ojibwa ceded much of their lands and were confined to small reservations; only a small number acquiesced to being removed to Kansas. Through the nineteenth century, non-Indigenous Americans acquired and exhausted many of the natural resources upon which the Ojibwa traditionally depended. Between 1820 and 1840, some Ojibwa adjusted by becoming farmers, raising hay, wheat, oats, peas, Indian corn, and potatoes, and keeping livestock; others found wage opportunities in the lumber industries.
The Ojibwa adapted in many ways to the changing world during the nineteenth century. They integrated Victorian fashions with traditional dress of buckskin breechcloth, leggings, and moccasins, sold native-made goods to non-Indians, and built log cabins to replace the dome-shaped wigwam covered with birchbark and cattail matting. Still, many continued to draw a living from what they gathered and continued to construct wooden utensils, birchbark containers, canoes, and cedar cradleboards.
Traditional Society
Status was earned in Ojibwa society through success as warriors, civil leaders, or shamans. Marriages were usually monogamous; polygyny was acceptable but rare. Individuals belonged to clans that were exogamous and patrilineal—children were born into their father’s clan and could not marry another of the same clan. Clan rules remain important today. Children are highly valued, and child-rearing was traditionally permissive. Fathers prepared sons, and mothers prepared daughters for adulthood. The most significant event in a child’s life came at puberty, with boys making a vision quest for a guardian spirit. It was not expected, but girls could also have a vision at this phase. Kinship continues to be a strong binding force in Ojibwa society.
According to the Ojibwa religion, spirits reside in most things and places, and a supreme spirit presides overall. One can satisfy spirits with offerings to avoid suffering the consequences of offending them. Dreams are interpreted as revelations from the spirits. The Midewiwin, or Medicine Dance, existed before the Drum Dance and peyote cult were introduced around the beginning of the twentieth century.
Twentieth Century and Beyond
The most significant change to occur in the twentieth century was the move to urban centers. The Depression struck the Ojibwa hard because they were already poor, but World War II offered economic opportunities as factories turned to war production, drawing Ojibwa away from their homes and into the cities. The trend continued under the federal government’s relocation policies during the 1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s, many Ojibwa members were involved in Indigenous American activism and began to demand that the state and federal governments uphold the treaties they had signed. Many Ojibwa continue to be involved in gaining federal recognition in order to benefit from the promises made to their predecessors. In 2014, more than twenty Ojibwa First Nation bands filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government in an attempt to receive restitution regarding annuity payments owed to their people based upon the terms of the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850. In July 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada found in favor of the Ojibwa unanimously. The case set an important precedent for other First Nations across Canada who may have similar claims regarding treaty obligations and government payments.
In the twenty-first century, the Ojibwa continues to be one of the largest Indigenous groups in North America, with communities in both the United States and Canada. In the US, twenty-one Indigenous American nations are federally recognized. These groups are working to preserve their culture and language while exercising their sovereign rights. In Canada, over 200 bands of Ojibwa First Nations identify Ojibwa, Saulteaux, or Mississauga. Both the US Indigenous Americans and Canadian First Nations continue negotiations with their respective federal governments to address historical injustices and advance self-determination.
Bibliography
Bishop, Charles A., et al. “Ojibwe.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 26 Sept. 2019, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ojibwa. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Broker, Ignatia. Night Flying Woman: An Ojibwa Narrative. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1983.
Clifton, James A. People of the Three Fires: The Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa of Michigan. Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council, 1986.
“The History and Culture of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Tribe.” Native Hope Blog, 30 Oct. 2022, blog.nativehope.org/history-and-culture-of-the-ojibwe-chippewa-tribe. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Loew, Patty. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2013.
Mollenkamp, Daniel Thomas. “Largest Indigenous Groups in the U.S.” Investopedia, 28 May 2024, www.investopedia.com/largest-indigenous-groups-in-us-6747515. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Schmalz, Peter S. The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario. University of Toronto Press, 1991.
Vennum, Thomas. The Ojibwa Dance Drum: Its History and Construction. Revised ed., Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.