Chippewa Culture & Traditions
The Chippewa--also known as the Ojibwe--are a tribe of Native Americans. They are the third largest tribe in the United States, after the Cherokee and Navajo. Approximately 56,000 Chippewa Native Americans live in areas between Michigan and Montana.
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History
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In recorded history, the Chippewa tribe were first mentioned by Jesuit missionaries in 1640. By buying guns from French traders, they managed to defeat their traditional enemies in the Sioux and Fox tribes, and they drove them out of the Upper Mississippi region, eventually becoming taking over the current Michigan, and parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Canadian province of Ontario.
When the French were defeated. the Chippewa allied themselves with the British against the United States, since settlers were encroaching on their lands. The agreements signed by the Chippewa Nation was the first with Canadian leaders, allowing settlers in the prairie provinces.
After several attempts by the United States government to remove the tribe--including several wars and massacres--they were finally allowed to live in reservations. Treaty land entitlements and settlements are continuously being re-negotiated by tribal leaders and the government. When they were signed, the Chippewa had no notion of land ownership, considering it as free and unbound as air or sunshine.
Family Structure
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Traditionally, the Chippewa people were divided in clans, each band identified by the leading clan. The band was led by a council of leaders representing the clans of the community. Each clan was named for its animal totems. There were five totems: The Bullhead (Wawaazisii), Crane (Baswenaazhi), Pintail Duck (Aan'aawenh), Bear (Nooke) and Moose-tail (Moozwaanowe). Traditionally, the Bear was the largest clan, and the Crane was the most vocal.
The family structure was also derived from the clans. The family includes the immediate family as well as cousins, since they are members of the same clan. Older and younger generations than the speaker are addressed with the same collective term.
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Religion
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The Chippewa considered themselves guided by spirits through life. They believed in a creation myth, and the Chippewa had extensive teachings regarding the origin of ceremonies and ritual. They used birch bark scrolls and petroforms (shapes of rock piled on top of each other) to document the ceremonies. These were only used as memory aids for the oral tradition. The knowledge was passed along in sweat lodges, which are still used to teach the younger generation about the history of the nation, in the form songs and chants.
Cuture
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Traditionally, the Chippewa were hunter-gatherers. Women cultivated corn and squash, and they harvested wild rice. Men went hunting and fishing.
The tribe created birch bark scrolls with writing used in the religious rites, but also containing knowledge of religion, geometry and mathematics. They used petroforms, and medicine wheels were a way to teach astronomy, which was used to determine the seasons. These scrolls are hidden and guarded by societies, who also are responsible for their interpretation.
Language
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The Ojibwe originally lived in wigwams. The original Ojibwe language is still spoken among the members of the Chippewa tribe, and it's the fourth largest of the still spoken Native American languages. The language is a member of the Algonquian family of languages, which have a very different linguistic structure than English.
The Chippewa hold social gatherings (pow-wows or "pau waus") in summer in their reservations. They also traditionally live in wigwams. That these words have made their way into English are due to their use in the "Song of Hiawata" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1855. Singers Buffy Sainte-Marie and Shania Twain are also members of the Chippewa tribe.
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References
- Photo Credit Totem image by Mathieu JACOB from Fotolia.com Tippi image by martintu from Fotolia.com
