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Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands

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The Eastern Woodlands is a cultural area of the Indigenous people of North America . The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains , and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico , which is now part of the Eastern United States and Canada . The Plains Indians culture area is to the west; the Subarctic area to the north. The Indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands spoke languages belonging to several language groups, including Algonquian , Iroquoian , Muskogean , and Siouan , as well as apparently isolated languages such as Calusa , Chitimacha , Natchez , Timucua , Tunica and Yuchi . Many of these languages are still spoken today.

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106-614: The earliest known inhabitants of the Eastern Woodlands were peoples of the Adena and Hopewell cultures, the term for a variety of peoples, speaking different languages, who inhabited the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys between 800 BC and 800 AD, and were connected by trading and communication routes. The cultures had a tradition of building earthwork mounds and, in some cases, large shaped constructions known as effigy mounds. They had

212-461: A culturally-specific form of pictorial writing, used in the religious rites of the Midewiwin and recorded on birch bark scrolls and possibly on rock. The many complex pictures on the sacred scrolls communicate much historical, geometrical, and mathematical knowledge, as well as images from their spiritual pantheon. The use of petroforms , petroglyphs , and pictographs has been common throughout

318-514: A feast is also held by the relatives which ends with a final smoke of the offering tobacco or the tobacco being thrown in the fire. Although conventional caskets are mainly used in today's communities, birch bark fire matches are buried along with the body as a tool to help light fires to guide their journey to Gaagige Minawaanigozigiwining . Plants used by the Ojibwe include Agrimonia gryposepala , used for urinary problems, and Pinus strobus ,

424-410: A mobile kitchen to teach their communities about nutritious food preparation. The traditional Native American diet was seasonally dependent on hunting, fishing and the foraging and farming of produce and grains. The modern diet has substituted some other types of food like frybread and "Indian tacos" in place of these traditionally prepared meals. The Native Americans loss of connection to their culture

530-481: A poultice of the gum or needles of Abies balsamea to open sores, insect bites, boils and infections. The needles are a sudatory for women after childbirth and are infused for a laxative tea, while the roots treat heart disease. At the time of their first meeting with the French in 1603, the various Algonquin bands probably had a combined population somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000. The British estimate in 1768

636-638: A spider's web, used as a protective charm for infants. According to Ojibwe legend, the protective charms originate with the Spider Woman , known as Asibikaashi ; who takes care of the children and the people on the land and as the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children, so the mothers and grandmothers wove webs for the children, which had an apotropaic purpose and were not explicitly connected with dreams. In Ojibwe tradition,

742-554: A strong totem /clan system rather than the European-styled political concept of nationhood. The several Algonquin bands each had its own chief. Within each band, the chief depended on political approval from each of the band's clan leaders. Champlain needed to cultivate relationships with numerous chiefs and clan leaders. From 1603, some of the Algonquins allied with the French under Champlain. This alliance proved useful to

848-541: A trading post at the village in 1721 and attracted a large number of Haudenosaunee converts to Christianity to the area. The settlement of Kanesatake was formally founded as a Catholic mission , a seigneury under the supervision of the Sulpician Order for 300 Christian Mohawk, about 100 Algonquins, and approximately 250 Nipissing peoples "in their care". Over time the Sulpicians claimed total control of

954-679: A variety of purposes, some apparently related to astronomical calculations and ritual observances. These peoples were generally hunters and gatherers, while also relying on some farming to produce food on the fertile land in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. Because of this reliance on farming, these tribes did not migrate like the more northern Eastern Woodlands tribes and instead stayed in one place, which resulted in them developing new social and political structures. The Eastern Woodlands tribes located further north (Algonquian-speaking people) relied heavily on hunting to acquire food. These tribes did not plant many crops, however, some tribes, such as

1060-467: A wooden marker, inscribed with the deceased's doodem (clan sign). Because of the distinct features of these burials, Ojibwe graves have been often looted by grave robbers. In the United States, many Ojibwe communities safe-guard their burial mounds through the enforcement of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act . Several Ojibwe bands in the United States cooperate in

1166-970: Is Anishinaabemowin , a branch of the Algonquian language family . The Ojibwe are part of the Council of Three Fires (along with the Odawa and Potawatomi ) and of the larger Anishinaabeg, which includes Algonquin , Nipissing , and Oji-Cree people. Historically, through the Saulteaux branch, they were part of the Iron Confederacy , with the Cree, Assiniboine , and Metis . The Ojibwe are known for their birchbark canoes , birchbark scrolls , mining and trade in copper , and their harvesting of wild rice and maple syrup . Their Midewiwin Society

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1272-465: Is a vast, longstanding trade network across the continent. The use and trade of copper across the continent has also been proof of a large trading network that took place for thousands of years, as far back as the Hopewell tradition . Certain types of rock used for spear and arrow heads have also been traded over large distances precontact. During the summer months, the people attend jiingotamog for

1378-439: Is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa , Potawatomi , Ojibwe (including Oji-Cree ), Mississaugas , and Nipissing , with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe (Anishinaabeg). Algonquins are known by many names , including Omàmiwinini (plural: Omàmiwininiwak , "downstream man/men") and Abitibiwinni (pl.: Abitibiwinnik "men [living] halfway across

1484-468: Is part of the "quest to reconnect to their food traditions" sparking an interest in traditional ingredients like wild rice , that is the official state grain of Minnesota and Michigan, and was part of the pre-colonial diet of the Ojibwe. Other staple foods of the Ojibwe were fish, maple sugar, venison and corn. They grew beans, squash, corn and potatoes and foraged for blueberries, blackberries, choke cherries, raspberries, gooseberries and huckleberries. During

1590-563: Is still widely spoken, although the number of fluent speakers has declined sharply. Today, most of the language's fluent speakers are elders. Since the early 21st century, there is a growing movement to revitalize the language and restore its strength as a central part of Ojibwe culture. The language belongs to the Algonquian linguistic group and is descended from Proto-Algonquian . Its sister languages include Blackfoot , Cheyenne , Cree , Fox , Menominee , Potawatomi , and Shawnee among

1696-415: Is well respected as the keeper of detailed and complex scrolls of events, oral history, songs, maps, memories, stories, geometry, and mathematics. European powers, Canada, and the U.S. have colonized Ojibwe lands. The Ojibwe signed treaties with settler leaders to surrender land for settlement in exchange for compensation, land reserves and guarantees of traditional rights. Many European settlers moved into

1802-597: The Waabanakiing (Land of the Dawn, i.e., Eastern Land) to teach them the mide way of life. One of the miigis was too spiritually powerful and killed the people in the Waabanakiing when they were in its presence. The six others remained to teach, while the one returned into the ocean. The six established doodem (clans) for people in the east, symbolized by animals. The five original Anishinaabe doodem were

1908-626: The Atlantic coast of what is now Quebec . They traded widely across the continent for thousands of years as they migrated, and knew of the canoe routes to move north, west to east, and then south in the Americas. The identification of the Ojibwe as a culture or people may have occurred in response to contact with Europeans. The Europeans preferred to deal with groups, and tried to identify those they encountered. According to Ojibwe oral history, seven great miigis (Cowrie shells) appeared to them in

2014-578: The Brule River (Bois Brûlé) in what is today northern Wisconsin and resulted in a decisive victory for the Ojibwe. In Canada, many of the land cession treaties the British made with the Ojibwe provided for their rights for continued hunting, fishing and gathering of natural resources after land sales. The government signed numbered treaties in northwestern Ontario, Manitoba , Saskatchewan , and Alberta . British Columbia had not signed treaties until

2120-593: The Cree . They are one of the most numerous Indigenous peoples north of the Rio Grande . The Ojibwe population is approximately 320,000, with 170,742 living in the U.S. as of 2010 and approximately 160,000 in Canada. In the U.S. there are 77,940 mainline Ojibwe, 76,760 Saulteaux, and 8,770 Mississauga, organized in 125 bands. In Canada they live from western Quebec to eastern British Columbia . The Ojibwe language

2226-610: The Dutch , and later by the English . The Haudenosaunee and the English defeated the French and Algonquins in the 1620s, and, led by Sir David Kirke , occupied New France . In 1623, having realized the occupation of New France demonstrated French colonial vulnerability, the French began to trade muskets to Algonquins and their allies. French Jesuits began to seek Algonquin conversions to Roman Catholicism . Through all of these years,

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2332-746: The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. They prospered through the collection of beaver pelts from Indigenous traders passing through their territory. They also were proud of their corn fields. At first, the French used the term "Algonquin" only for a second group, the Wàwàckeciriniwak . However, by 1615, they applied the name to all of the Algonquin bands living along the Ottawa River. Because of keen interest by tribes to gain control of

2438-481: The Great Lakes and the northern Great Plains . The popularity of the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha , written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1855, publicized the Ojibwe culture. The epic contains many toponyms that originate from Ojibwe words. According to Ojibwe oral history and from recordings in birch bark scrolls, the Ojibwe originated from the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River on

2544-538: The Great Lakes , where the climate allows for a longer growing season. Notable indigenous crops historically farmed by Algonquins are the sunflower and tobacco . Around 800CE, Eastern Algonquins adopted maize agriculture from their neighbors in the interior. Even among groups who mainly hunted, agricultural products were an important source of food. They obtained what was needed by trading with or raiding societies that practiced more agriculture. Eastern Algonquins created pots that could withstand not only thermal stress but

2650-640: The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission , which manages the treaty hunting and fishing rights in the Lake Superior- Lake Michigan areas. The commission follows the directives of U.S. agencies to run several wilderness areas . Some Minnesota Ojibwe tribal councils cooperate in the 1854 Treaty Authority , which manages their treaty hunting and fishing rights in the Arrowhead Region . In Michigan,

2756-806: The Potawatomi removal . In British North America, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 following the Seven Years' War governed the cession of land by treaty or purchase. Subsequently, France ceded most of the land in Upper Canada to Great Britain. Even with the Jay Treaty signed between Great Britain and the United States following the American Revolutionary War , the newly formed United States did not fully uphold

2862-619: The Rocky Mountains and north to Hudson Bay , was named after the tribe. Most Algonquins live in Quebec . The nine recognized status Algonquin bands in that province and one in Ontario have a combined population of about 17,002. In addition, there are additional non-status communities, some of which are controversial. Algonquins are original Indigenous People of southern Quebec and eastern Ontario in Canada. Many Algonquins still speak

2968-503: The Saint Louis River estuary at the western end of Lake Superior. (This has since been developed as the present-day Duluth / Superior cities.) The people were directed in a vision by the miigis being to go to the "place where there is food (i.e., wild rice ) upon the waters." Their second major settlement, referred to as their "seventh stopping place", was at Shaugawaumikong (or Zhaagawaamikong , French, Chequamegon ) on

3074-746: The Sandy Lake Tragedy , several hundred Ojibwe died because of the federal government's failure to deliver fall annuity payments. The government attempted to do this in the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . Through the efforts of Chief Buffalo and the rise of popular opinion in the U.S. against Ojibwe removal, the bands east of the Mississippi were allowed to return to reservations on ceded territory. A few families were removed to Kansas as part of

3180-810: The Turtle Mountains of North Dakota . In the latter area, the French Canadians called them Ojibwe or Saulteaux . The Ojibwe were part of a long-term alliance with the Anishinaabe Odawa and Potawatomi peoples, called the Council of Three Fires . They fought against the Iroquois Confederacy , based mainly to the southeast of the Great Lakes in present-day New York , and the Sioux to the west. The Ojibwa stopped

3286-521: The Wawaazisii ( Bullhead ), Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker, i.e., Crane ), Aan'aawenh ( Pintail Duck), Nooke (Tender, i.e., Bear ) and Moozoonsii (Little Moose ). The six miigis then returned to the ocean as well. If the seventh had stayed, it would have established the Thunderbird doodem . At a later time, one of these miigis appeared in a vision to relate a prophecy. It said that if

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3392-708: The Wendat , Abenaki , Atikamekw , and Cree , along with the Innu, as related above. Algonquin first met Europeans when Samuel de Champlain came upon a party led by the Kitcisìpirini Chief Tessouat at Tadoussac , in eastern present-day Quebec, in the summer of 1603. They were celebrating a recent victory over the Iroquois , with the allied Montagnais and Etchemins ( Malecite ). Champlain did not understand that Algonquins were socially united by

3498-756: The 1820s and 1930s, the lumber industry began to move up the Ottawa valley. Algonquin became increasingly displaced as a result. Beginning in the 1820s, Algonquin Grand Chief Constant Pinesi sent a series of letters petitioning the British Crown for Algonquin Territorial Recognition previously agreed upon in the Treaties of 1701 and 1764, ratified by Algonquins and the British Crown. No responses were forthcoming from

3604-589: The 19th Century progressed. Many of these Algonquins were not recognized as "Status Indians". The location of the former Lake of Two Mountains Band came to be known as Kahnesatake. As a large majority of the Algonquin population had left the area, with only the Christian Haudenosaunee and a few Algonquins remaining, it became recognized as a Mohawk reserve (though many in the community have at least partial Algonquin Ancestry). Algonquins living in

3710-464: The Algonquin language, called generally Anicinàpemowin or specifically Omàmiwininìmowin . The language is considered one of several divergent dialects of the Anishinaabe languages. Among younger speakers, the Algonquin language has experienced strong word borrowings from the Cree language . Traditionally, the Algonquins lived in either birch bark or wooden mìkiwàms . Traditionally,

3816-463: The Algonquin, who previously had little to no access to European firearms. Champlain made his first exploration of the Ottawa River during May 1613 and reached the fortified Kitcisìpirini village at Morrison Island . Unlike the other Algonquin communities, the Kitcisìpiriniwak did not change location with the seasons. They had chosen a strategic point astride the trade route between

3922-519: The Algonquins say they migrated from the Atlantic coast. Together with other Anicinàpek , they arrived at the "First Stopping Place" near Montreal . While the other Anicinàpe peoples continued their journey up the St. Lawrence River , the Algonquins settled along Kitcisìpi (the Ottawa River ), a long-important highway for commerce, cultural exchange and transportation. Algonquin identity, though,

4028-614: The Algonquins were practitioners of Midewiwin (the Path of the Heart). They believed they were surrounded by many manitòk or spirits in the natural world. French missionaries converted many Algonquins to Catholicism in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, many Algonquin practice traditional Midewiwin or a syncretic merging of Christianity and Midewiwin. In the oral history of the Great Anishinaabeg Migration,

4134-599: The Anishinaabe philosophy of interconnectedness and balance among all living generations, as well as of all generations of the past and of the future. The Ojibwe people were divided into a number of doodemag (clans; singular: doodem ) named primarily for animals and birds totems (pronounced doodem ). The word in the Ojibwe language means "my fellow clansman." The five original totems were Wawaazisii (Bullhead), Baswenaazhi /"Ajiijaak" ("Echo-maker", i.e., Crane), Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck), Nooke ("Tender", i.e., Bear) and Moozwaanowe ("Little" Moose-tail). The Crane totem

4240-526: The Anishinaabeg did not move farther west, they would not be able to keep their traditional ways alive because of the many new pale-skinned settlers who would arrive soon in the east. Their migration path would be symbolized by a series of smaller Turtle Islands, which was confirmed with miigis shells (i.e., cowry shells). After receiving assurance from their "Allied Brothers" (i.e., Mi'kmaq ) and "Father" (i.e., Abenaki ) of their safety to move inland,

4346-559: The Anishinaabeg gradually migrated west along the Saint Lawrence River to the Ottawa River to Lake Nipissing , and then to the Great Lakes. The first of the smaller Turtle Islands was Mooniyaa , where Mooniyaang (present-day Montreal ) developed. The "second stopping place" was in the vicinity of the Wayaanag-gakaabikaa (Concave Waterfalls, i.e., Niagara Falls ). At their "third stopping place", near

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4452-509: The British, and the Algonquins began to be relegated to a string of small reserves beginning in the 1830s. Algonquins who agreed to move to these reserves or joined other historical bands were federally "recognized". Others maintained their attachment to the traditional territory and fur trading, and chose not to re-locate. These Algonquins were later called "stragglers" in the Ottawa and Pontiac counties with some eventually settling in small towns such as Renfrew , Whitney , and Eganville as

4558-719: The Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority manages the hunting, fishing and gathering rights about Sault Ste. Marie, and the resources of the waters of lakes Michigan and Huron. In Canada, the Grand Council of Treaty No. 3 manages the Treaty 3 hunting and fishing rights related to the area around Lake of the Woods . There is renewed interest in nutritious eating among the Ojibwe, who have been expanding community gardens in food deserts , and have started

4664-728: The Eastern Woodland tribes were village bands, which were led by one chief. In the Eastern Woodlands Algonquian-speaking societies, patrilineal clans had names associated with animal totems; these clans comprised the village bands. The Eastern Woodlands Iroquoian-speaking societies had a matrilineal kinship system, with inheritance and property passed through the mother's line. The Iroquoian village-bands were also composed of numerous clans. Individuals would marry outside their clan to form exogamous clans. They considered themselves to be sibling with

4770-452: The French retreated from Wendat ( Huron ) country that year, Tessouat was reported to have had the superior of the Jesuit mission suspended by his armpits because he refused to offer him the customary presents for being allowed to travel through Algonquin territory. Some joined the mission at Sillery, where they were mostly destroyed by an infectious disease epidemic by 1676. Encouraged by

4876-466: The French, others remained at Trois-Rivières. Their settlement at nearby Pointe-du-Lac continued until about 1830. That year the last 14 families, numbering about 50, moved to Kanesatake near Oka . (The families who stayed in Trois Rivieres can be found in the Algonquin census of Trois Rivieres in the mid-19th century). The Lake of Two Mountains band of Algonquins were located just west of

4982-464: The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario was reached in 2015. Many Algonquins dispute both the validity of both this settlement and the organization of the Algonquins of Ontario as a whole. In 2000, Algonquins from Timiskaming First Nation played a significant part in the local popular opposition to the plan to convert Adams Mine into a garbage dump. Historical Algonquin society

5088-619: The Haudenosaunee never attacked the Kitcisìpirinik fortress. But, in 1642, they made a surprise winter raid, attacking Algonquins while most of their warriors were absent, and causing severe casualties. On March 6, 1647 ( Ash Wednesday ), a large Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) war party attacked the Kitcisìpiriniwak living near Trois-Rivières and almost exterminated them. The Kitcisìpiriniwak were still at Morrison Island in 1650 and inspired respect with their 400 warriors. When

5194-565: The Iroquois advance into their territory near Lake Superior in 1662. Then they formed an alliance with other tribes such as the Huron and the Odawa who had been displaced by the Iroquois invasion. Together they launched a massive counterattack against the Iroquois and drove them out of Michigan and southern Ontario until they were forced to flee back to their original homeland in upstate New York. At

5300-402: The Island of Montreal, and were signatories to the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. The Sulpician Mission of the Mountain was founded at Montreal in 1677. In 1717, the King of France granted the Mohawk in Quebec a tract of land 9 miles long by 9 miles wide about 40 miles to the northwest of Montreal, under the condition that they leave the island of Montreal. Sulpician Missionaries set up

5406-444: The Midewiwin teachings. These include a creation story and a recounting of the origins of ceremonies and rituals. Spiritual beliefs and rituals were very important to the Ojibwe because spirits guided them through life. Birch bark scrolls and petroforms were used to pass along knowledge and information, as well as for ceremonies. Pictographs were also used for ceremonies. The sweatlodge is still used during important ceremonies about

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5512-413: The Ojibwe allied with British forces and against the United States in the War of 1812 . They had hoped that a British victory could protect them against United States settlers' encroachment on their territory. Following the war, the United States government tried to forcibly remove all the Ojibwe to Minnesota , west of the Mississippi River. The Ojibwe resisted, and there were violent confrontations. In

5618-418: The Ojibwe ancestral lands. The exonym for this Anishinaabe group is Ojibwe (plural: Ojibweg ). This word has two variations, one French (Ojibwa) and the other English (Chippewa). Although many variations exist in the literature, Chippewa is more common in the United States, and Ojibway predominates in Canada, but both terms are used in each country. In many Ojibwe communities throughout Canada and

5724-422: The Ojibwe and the settlers. The United States and Canada viewed later treaties offering land cessions as offering territorial advantages. The Ojibwe did not understand the land cession terms in the same way because of the cultural differences in understanding the uses of land. The governments of the U.S. and Canada considered land a commodity of value that could be freely bought, owned and sold. The Ojibwe believed it

5830-420: The Ojibwe as Saulteurs . Ojibwe who subsequently moved to the prairie provinces of Canada have retained the name Saulteaux. This is disputed since some scholars believe that only the name migrated west. Ojibwe who were originally located along the Mississagi River and made their way to southern Ontario are known as the Mississaugas . The Ojibwe language is known as Anishinaabemowin or Ojibwemowin , and

5936-528: The Ojibwe divided into the "northern branch", following the north shore of Lake Superior, and the "southern branch", along its south shore. As the people continued to migrate westward, the "northern branch" divided into a "westerly group" and a "southerly group". The "southern branch" and the "southerly group" of the "northern branch" came together at their "sixth stopping place" on Spirit Island ( 46°41′15″N 092°11′21″W  /  46.68750°N 92.18917°W  / 46.68750; -92.18917 ) located in

6042-425: The Ojibwe occurs in the French Jesuit Relation of 1640, a report by the missionary priests to their superiors in France. Through their friendship with the French traders ( coureurs des bois and voyageurs ), the Ojibwe gained guns, began to use European goods, and began to dominate their traditional enemies, the Lakota and Fox to their west and south. They drove the Sioux from the Upper Mississippi region to

6148-463: The Ojibwe traditional territories. Petroforms and medicine wheels have been used to teach important spiritual concepts, record astronomical events, and to use as a mnemonic device for certain stories and beliefs. The script is still in use, among traditional people as well as among youth on social media. Some ceremonies use the miigis shell ( cowry shell ), which is found naturally in distant coastal areas. Their use of such shells demonstrates there

6254-404: The U.S. since the late 20th century, more members have been using the generalized name Anishinaabe(-g) . The meaning of the name Ojibwe is not known; the most common explanations for the name's origin are: Because many Ojibwe were formerly located around the outlet of Lake Superior , which the French colonists called Sault Ste. Marie for its rapids, the early Canadian settlers referred to

6360-428: The West, 16 Plains Cree and Ojibwe bands formed the Allied Bands of Qu'Appelle in 1910 in order to redress concerns about the failure of the government to uphold Treaty 4's promises. The Ojibwe have traditionally organized themselves into groups known as bands . Most Ojibwe, except for the Great Plains bands, have historically lived a settled (as opposed to nomadic) lifestyle, relying on fishing and hunting to supplement

6466-534: The agenda and negotiated the first numbered treaties before they would allow safe passage of many more British settlers to the prairies. Ojibwe communities have a strong history of political and social activism. Long before contact, they were closely aligned with Odawa and Potawatomi people in the Council of the Three Fires. From the 1870s to 1938, the Grand General Indian Council of Ontario attempted to reconcile multiple traditional models into one cohesive voice to exercise political influence over colonial legislation. In

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6572-429: The area of the present-day Dakotas, and forced the Fox down from northern Wisconsin . The latter allied with the Sauk for protection. By the end of the 18th century, the Ojibwe controlled nearly all of present-day Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and Minnesota, including most of the Red River area. They also controlled the entire northern shores of lakes Huron and Superior on the Canadian side and extending westward to

6678-412: The bladder. The Ojibwa are documented to use the root of Uvularia grandiflora for pain in the solar plexus , which may refer to pleurisy . They take a compound decoction of the root of Ribes glandulosum for back pain and for "female weakness". Algonquin people The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada . They speak the Algonquin language , which

6784-407: The continuing use of the river for cultural exchange throughout the Canadian Shield and beyond. Beginning at the latest in c. 1 CE, the Algonquin Nation inhabited the islands and shores along Kitcisìpi (Algonquin Language name translating to The Great River, known now as the Ottawa River ). By the 17th century European Explorers found them well established as a hunter-gatherer society in control of

6890-487: The cultivation of numerous varieties of maize and squash , and the harvesting of manoomin (wild rice) for food. Historically their typical dwelling has been the wiigiwaam ( wigwam ), built either as a waginogaan (domed-lodge) or as a nasawa'ogaan (pointed-lodge), made of birch bark, juniper bark and willow saplings. In the contemporary era, most of the people live in modern housing, but traditional structures are still used for special sites and events. They have

6996-422: The death, guests and medicine men were required to stay with the deceased and the family in order to help mourn, while also singing songs and dancing throughout the night. Once preparations were complete, the body would be placed in an inflexed position with their knees towards their chest. Over the course of the four days it takes the spirit to journey to its place of joy, it is customary to have food kept alongside

7102-446: The deceased are required to trade in a new piece of clothing, all of which would be turned into a bundle. The bundle of new cloths and a dish is then given to the closest relative. The recipient of the bundle must then find individuals that he or she believes to be worthy, and pass on one of the new pieces of clothing. According to Lee Staples, an Ojibwe spiritual leader from the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, present day practices follow

7208-440: The earliest form of dark cloth dresses decorated with rows of tin cones - often made from the lids of tobacco cans- that make a jingling sound when worn by the dancer. This style of dress is now popular with all tribes and is a distinctly Ojibwe contribution to Pan-Indianism. The Ojibwe bury their dead in burial mounds . Many erect a jiibegamig or a "spirit-house" over each mound. An historical burial mound would typically have

7314-402: 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. They were sometimes referred to as "white" because of their fathers, regardless if their mothers were Ojibwe, as they had no official place in the Ojibwe society. The people would shelter the woman and her children, but they did not have

7420-449: The four directions, when oral history is recounted. 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. The modern dreamcatcher , adopted by the Pan-Indian Movement and New Age groups, originated in the Ojibwe "spider web charm", a hoop with woven string or sinew meant to replicate

7526-454: The grave at all times. A fire is set when the sun sets and is kept going throughout the night. The food is to help feed the spirit over the course of the journey, while the smoke from the fire is a directional guide. Once the four–day journey is over, a feast is held, which is led by the chief medicine man . At the feast, it is the chief medicine man's duty to give away certain belongings of the deceased. Those who were chosen to receive items from

7632-474: The historic Ojibwe , grew wild rice and relied on it as one of their major food sources. The type of animals these tribes hunted depended on the geographic location of the tribe. For example, the tribes located close to the coast hunted seals, porpoises, and whales, while the more inland tribes hunted deer, moose, and caribou. The meat was either cooked to be eaten immediately or was smoke-dried, to preserve it for later consumption. The largest political unit among

7738-489: The land, gaining a deed that gave them legal title. But the Haudenosaunee (Mohawks), Algonquins, and Nipissing understood that this land was being held in trust for them. The Sulpician mission village of Lake of Two Mountains (Lac des Deux Montagnes), west of Montreal, became known both by its Algonquin language name Oka (meaning "pickerel"), and the Mohawk language Kanehsatà:ke ("sandy place"); however, Algonquin also called

7844-402: The late 20th century, and most areas have no treaties yet. The government and First Nations are continuing to negotiate treaty land entitlements and settlements. The treaties are constantly being reinterpreted by the courts because many of them are vague and difficult to apply in modern times. The numbered treaties were some of the most detailed treaties signed for their time. The Ojibwe Nation set

7950-532: The lower Ottawa River , the Kitcisìpiriniwak and the Wàwàckeciriniwak came under fierce opposition. These two large groups allied together, under the leadership of Sachem (Carolus) Charles Pachirini, to maintain the Omàmiwinini identity and territory. The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) drove Algonquins from their lands. The Haudenosaunee were aided by having been traded arms by

8056-407: The main task after a death is to bury the body as soon as possible, the very next day or even on the day of death. This was important because it allowed the spirit of the dead to journey to its place of joy and happiness. The land of happiness where the dead reside is called Gaagige Minawaanigozigiwining . This was a journey that took four days. If burial preparations could not be completed the day of

8162-423: The mechanical stress of rough use. Archaeological sites on Morrison Island near Pembroke , within the territory of the later Kitcisìpiriniwak , reveal a 1,000-year-old culture that manufactured copper tools and weapons. Copper ore was extracted north of Lake Superior and distributed down to present-day northern New York . Local pottery artifacts from this period show widespread similarities that indicate

8268-480: The northern Plains tribes. Anishinaabemowin is frequently referred to as a "Central Algonquian" language; Central Algonquian is an area grouping, however, rather than a linguistic genetic one. Ojibwemowin is the fourth-most spoken Native language in North America after Navajo , Cree, and Inuktitut . Many decades of fur trading with the French established the language as one of the key trade languages of

8374-569: The northern regions of Algonquin Territory gradually moved to towns such as present day Témiscaming , and Mattawa , amongst others in Ontario and Quebec, as territorial encroachment by settlers, and lumber and resource companies increased throughout the 19th and 20th centuries or various reserves set up in their traditional territories. In recent years, tensions with the lumber industry have flared up again among Algonquin communities, in response to

8480-494: The other individuals within the exogamous clan. Ojibwe The Ojibwe ( syll. : ᐅᒋᐺ ; plural: Ojibweg ᐅᒋᐺᒃ ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland ( Ojibwewaki ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains , extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. The Ojibwe, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of

8586-653: The powerful Haudenosaunee , whose confederacy was based in present-day New York. In 1570, the Algonquins formed an alliance with the Innu (Montagnais) to the east, whose territory extended to the ocean. Culturally, Omàmìwininì (Algonquin) and the Mississaugas (Michi Saagiig) were not part of the Ojibwe–Odawa–Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires , though they did maintain close ties. Omàmìwininìwak (Algonquins) maintained stronger cultural ties with

8692-469: The practice of clear-cutting. In Ontario, an Algonquin land claim has been ongoing since 1983, encompassing much of the southeastern part of the province, stretching from near North Bay to near Hawkesbury and including Ottawa , Pembroke , and most of Algonquin Provincial Park . The Algonquins never relinquished title to this area. An agreement-in-principle between the Algonquins of Ontario,

8798-476: The present-day city of Detroit, Michigan , the Anishinaabeg divided into six groups, of which the Ojibwe was one. The first significant new Ojibwe culture-center was their "fourth stopping place" on Manidoo Minising ( Manitoulin Island ). Their first new political-center was referred to as their "fifth stopping place", in their present country at Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie). Continuing their westward expansion,

8904-428: The resin of which was used to treat infections and gangrene . The roots of Symphyotrichum novae-angliae are smoked in pipes to attract game. Allium tricoccum is eaten as part of Ojibwe cuisine. They also use a decoction as a quick-acting emetic . An infusion of the alba subspecies of Silene latifolia is used as physic . The South Ojibwa use a decoction of the root Viola canadensis for pains near

9010-445: The river. On Morrison Island, at the location where 5,000-year-old copper artifacts were discovered, the Kitcisìpiriniwak levied a toll on canoe flotillas descending the river. Algonquins of Quebec gather the berries of Ribes glandulosum and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides as food, and eat and sell the fruit of Vaccinium myrtilloides . They take an infusion of Epigaea repens leaves for kidney disorders and apply

9116-507: The same kinship term with younger cross-cousins. Complexity wanes further from the person's immediate generation, but some complexity is retained with female relatives. For example, ninooshenh is "my mother's sister" or "my father's sister-in-law" – i.e., my parallel-aunt, but also "my parent's female cross-cousin". Great-grandparents and older generations, as well as great-grandchildren and younger generations, are collectively called aanikoobijigan . This system of kinship reflects

9222-456: The same place in the culture as children born to Ojibwe fathers. Ojibwe understanding of kinship is complex and includes the immediate family as well as extended family. It is considered a modified bifurcate merging kinship system . As with any bifurcate-merging kinship system, siblings generally share the same kinship term with parallel cousins because they are all part of the same clan. The modified system allows for younger siblings to share

9328-428: The same spiritual beliefs and remain fairly similar. When an individual dies, a fire is lit in the home of the family, who are also expected to continuously maintain the fire for four days. Over the four days, food is also offered to the spirit. Added to food offerings, tobacco is also offered as it is considered one of four sacred medicines traditionally used by Ojibwe communities. On the last night of food offerings,

9434-589: The same time the Iroquois were subjected to attacks by the French. This was the beginning of the end of the Iroquois Confederacy as they were put on the defensive. The Ojibwe expanded eastward, taking over the lands along the eastern shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay . In 1745, they adopted guns from the British in order to repel the Dakota people in the Lake Superior area, pushing them to

9540-546: The south and west. In the 1680s the Ojibwa defeated the Iroquois who dispersed their Huron allies and trading partners. This victory allowed them a " golden age " in which they ruled uncontested in southern Ontario. Often, treaties known as "peace and friendship treaties" were made to establish community bonds between the Ojibwe and the European settlers. These established the groundwork for cooperative resource-sharing between

9646-583: The southern shore of Lake Superior, near the present La Pointe, Wisconsin . The "westerly group" of the "northern branch" migrated along the Rainy River , Red River of the North , and across the northern Great Plains until reaching the Pacific Northwest . Along their migration to the west, they came across many miigis , or cowry shells, as told in the prophecy. The first historical mention of

9752-478: The spiritual and niimi'idimaa for a social gathering ( powwows ) at various reservations in the Anishinaabe-Aki (Anishinaabe Country). Many people still follow the traditional ways of harvesting wild rice, picking berries, hunting, making medicines, and making maple sugar . The jingle dress that is typically worn by female pow wow dancers originated from the Ojibwe. Both Plains and Woodlands Ojibwe claim

9858-437: The subarctic , are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa . As a large ethnic group , several distinct nations also consider themselves Ojibwe, including the Saulteaux , Nipissings , and Oji-Cree . According to the U.S. census, Ojibwe people are one of the largest tribal populations among Native American peoples in the U.S. In Canada, they are the second-largest First Nations population, surpassed only by

9964-488: The summer game animals like deer, beaver, moose, goose, duck, rabbits and bear were hunted. One traditional method of making granulated sugar known among the Anishinabe was to boil maple syrup until reduced and pour into a trough, where the rapidly cooling syrup was quickly processed into maple sugar using wooden paddles. Traditionally, the Ojibwe had a patrilineal system, in which children were considered born to

10070-598: The treaty obligations. In part because of its long trading alliance, the Ojibwe allied with the French against Great Britain and its colonists in the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War ). After losing the war in 1763, France was forced to cede its colonial claims to lands in Canada and east of the Mississippi River to Britain. After Pontiac's War and adjusting to British colonial rule,

10176-477: The treaty. As it was still preoccupied by war with France, Great Britain ceded to the United States much of the lands in Ohio , Indiana , Michigan, parts of Illinois and Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota and North Dakota to settle the boundary of their holdings in Canada. In 1807, the Ojibwe joined three other tribes, the Odawa, Potawatomi and Wyandot people, in signing the Treaty of Detroit . The agreement, between

10282-666: The tribes and William Hull , representing the Michigan Territory , gave the United States a portion of today's Southeastern Michigan and a section of Ohio near the Maumee River . The tribes were able to retain small pockets of land in the territory. The Battle of the Brule was an October 1842 battle between the La Pointe Band of Ojibwe Indians and a war party of Dakota Indians. The battle took place along

10388-479: The village as Ganashtaageng after the Mohawk language name. Algonquin warriors continued to fight in alliance with France until the British conquest of Quebec in 1760, during the Seven Years' War. After the British took over colonial rule of Canada, their officials sought to make allies of the First Nations, and the Algonquin, along with many other First Nations signed the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which

10494-487: The water") or the more generalised name of Anicinàpe . Though known by several names in the past, such as Algoumequin , the most common term "Algonquin" has been suggested to derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik ( IPA: [ɛlæˈɡomoɡwik] ): "they are our relatives/allies." The much larger heterogeneous group of Algonquian -speaking peoples, who, according to Brian Conwell, stretch from Virginia to

10600-449: Was a fully shared resource, along with air, water and sunlight—despite having an understanding of "territory". At the time of the treaty councils, they could not conceive of separate land sales or exclusive ownership of land. Consequently, today, in both Canada and the U.S., legal arguments in treaty-rights and treaty interpretations often bring to light the differences in cultural understanding of treaty terms to come to legal understanding of

10706-415: Was built with wood and covered with an envelope made of leather or material. The baby was standing up with his feet resting on a small board. The mother would then put the tikinàgan on her back. This allowed the infant to look around and observe his surroundings. The child was kept close to the mother but also had much stimulation. Algonquian-speaking people also practiced agriculture, particularly south of

10812-485: Was largely hunting and fishing-based. Being primarily a hunting nation, the people emphasized mobility. They used materials that were light and easy to transport. Canoes were made of birch bark , sewed with spruce roots and rendered waterproof by the application of heated spruce resin and bear grease. During winter, toboggans were used to transport material, and people used snowshoes to get around. The women used tikinaagan (cradleboards) to carry their babies. It

10918-518: Was not fully realized until after the dividing of the Anicinàpek at the "Third Stopping Place". Scholars have used the oral histories, archeology, and linguistics to estimate this took place about 2000 years ago, near present-day Detroit . After contact with the Europeans, especially the French and Dutch , the Algonquin nations became active in the fur trade . This led them to fight against

11024-464: Was often identified by the principal doodem . In meeting others, the traditional greeting among the Ojibwe people is, "What is your 'doodem'?" (" Aaniin gidoodem? " or " Awanen gidoodem? ") The response allows the parties to establish social conduct by identifying as family, friends or enemies. Today, the greeting has been shortened to " Aanii " (pronounced "Ah-nee"). The Ojibwe have spiritual beliefs that have been passed down by oral tradition under

11130-450: Was the most vocal among the Ojibwe, and the Bear was the largest – so large, that it was sub-divided into body parts such as the head, the ribs and the feet. Each clan had certain responsibilities among the people. People had to marry a spouse from a different clan. Traditionally, each band had a self-regulating council consisting of leaders of the communities' clans, or odoodemaan . The band

11236-563: Was then ratified in 1764 as the Treaty of Niagara . Subsequently, fighting on behalf of the British Crown, Algonquins took part in the Barry St Leger campaign during the American Revolutionary War . Following the American Revolutionary War , and later the War of 1812 , the Lake of Two Mountains Algonquins found their territory increasingly encroached on by Loyalist settlers. Beginning in

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