Anishinaabe (Anishinaabek) refers to a large group of culturally and linguistically related people that live in both Canada and the United States. They are one of the largest Indigenous groups in Canada, and most of these nations are mainly concentrated around the Great Lakes in both countries. In Canada, Anishinaabek live south of the Ottawa River Valley, all the way to Lake St.Clair. Many First Nations are located in southern Ontario and even more span west across Northern Ontario into the plains of Saskatchewan. The Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Algonquin, and Mississauga make up the Anishinaabek tribes that mainly populated and controlled the Great Lakes Basin by the late 1600’s.
There are many alliances and different agreements with the various Anishinaabe groups. One of them is the Three Fires Confederacy.
Three Fires Confederacy
This confederacy is made up of the Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe. Through this confederacy they could understand how they would proceed with the settlers and relationship they would have once they came. The Odawa people were to be the traders; who did the trading and formed relationships with the settlers. The Ojibwes were said to be the knowledge keepers; the ones who hold the ceremonies and pass down knowledge to the nations. The Potawatomi were said to take care of the fire, to make sure they were burning brightly.
Ways of Life
The Anishinaabe had a sophisticated society with their own belief systems, community laws and code of moral principles. They believe in one creator – The Great Spirit (Gitchi-Manitou). They believe every living thing has a spirit and should be treated with respect and as an equal. Anishinaabe people also established a framework of governance that was given to them by the creator and passed down through each family over generations. This traditional governance structure was called the Clan System (Doodem). There were seven original Anishinaabek Clans, each representing an animal and the teachings they provide. The people were knowledgeable about their environment, they took only what they needed from Mother Earth to survive and would always provide a sacred offering of Tobacco (Asemaa) to an animal who had given up its life for food. They traded with other tribes for goods they did not have or that were scarce in their territories, and with this, there was no concept of property ownership or individual wealth. Hunters provided food for all lodges and mothers helped raise each others children, everyone worked together.
The Migration of the Anishinaabe (Chibimoodaywin’)
The Anishinaabe originated on the northeast coast of what is now Canada and the United States. The number of people from the Ojibwe and Algonquin nations was remarkable. As told in the Mishomis Book, ‘The Migration Story’, “The people were so many and powerful that if one was to climb the highest mountain and look in all directions, they would not be able to see the end of the nation.’
Nations and clans scattered the land. There were berry pickers, wood carvers, fishermen, hunters, canoe makers, and stone carvers. There were people who were in charge of growing and harvesting plants from the gardens of Mother Earth and were referred to as the Gitigay’wininiwug’ (planters or keepers of the Creator’s garden.) There was always active communication between all groups of people, as they worked together as a community.
To traverse and migrate across the vast lands, the Anishinaabe used canoes on the waterways and a system of trails by foot. In the winter, they used sleds and dog teams to travel for extra power and strength. There was plenty of food from the land and water, and the Anishinaabe knew how to survive in any type of weather or season.
There was much discussion amongst the nations about the great migration to the west. Some people stayed behind but many traveled west to new lands.
There has been much discussion about the location of the first stopping place of the migration, but it is generally agreed upon that it is located on one of two islands along the St. Lawrence river, around the Montreal Area.
The Anishinaabe slowly moved down the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River, and made a major stop at the Animikee’ wabu (the place of the Thunder Water) or as known today as Niagara Falls. From here the people moved “to a place where two great bodies of water are connected by a thin, narrow river.” This river connects Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron in the North to Lake Erie in the south. It was at this stopping that the Anishinaabe drove back a large group of Iroquois warriors who were pursuing them. Later on, the Iroquois gave the Ojibwe a Wampum Belt to represent their relationship with each other and peace was finally sealed between them. After this stop they carried on westward to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. At this stop many people split off in groups to find ways of crossing the ‘great water’. Some of these groups went south and believed the direction of the migration had become lost.
To find out more details about the Great Migration, click the link below: