The people known by Americans as the Chippewa are the indigenous people of the northern Great Lakes region. They called themselves Anishinabe, meaning “first man”, but were called Ojibwe by other natives, meaning “those who make pictographs”. When English settlers arrived and learned of the Ojibwe, they mispronounced it as Chippewa, which has remained the official name used by the US government since then. The Ojibwe lived along the coast of Lake Superior, the lake they called Kitchigami, the giver of life. They treated all wildlife in the area with great respect, because they were also givers of life.
Like many indigenous people of America, the Ojibwe moved to different areas with the seasons, exploiting areas that had the best protection and food resources. They were a hunter-gatherer society, so they hunted, fished, tapped maple trees for sugar, and gathered rice, berries and nuts. Because of their need for mobility, the Ojibwe lived in dome-shaped houses called wigwams that could be built in a few hours. …show more content…
At this time, they also dried meat and fish and Men made new bows and arrows, so when spring came around, they would be ready to hunt. In early fall, when rice becomes ripe, the village would paddle their birch bark canoes onto shallow lakes to collect the rice, which was then sun roasted, threshed, cleaned, and packed into makuks, birch bark baskets, so it could be stored for the winter. Early fall also meant it was time for hunting so that food, clothing, and tools could be restocked. Smaller animals such as mink, beavers, foxes, and rabbits were trapped with snares, which was done so as not to damage the hides. As it got closer to November, men would go into the forest to hunt larger animals in groups of about six. They hunted large animals such as deer, moose, or even bears, because they had a large amount of