Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief system of theAnishinaabeg peoples, consisting of theAlgonquin/Nipissing,Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas,Odawa,Potawatomi andOji-Cree, located primarily in theGreat Lakes region ofNorth America.
The Anishinaabe have four different Medicine Societies.
TheMidewiwin (also spelledMidewin andMedewiwin) is theGrand Medicine Society of the indigenous groups of theMaritimes,New England andGreat Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are calledMidew and the practices ofMidewiwin referred to as theMide. TheMidewiwin society is a secretiveanimistic religion, requiring an initiation, and then progressing to four levels of practitioners, called "degrees". Occasionally, maleMidew are calledMidewinini, which sometimes is very loosely translated into English as "medicine man".
TheWaabanowin (also spelledWabuowin,Wabunohwin andWabunohiwin) is theDawn Society, also sometime improperly called the "Magical Dawn Society". Its practitioners are calledWaabanow and the practices ofWaabanowin referred to as theWaabano. TheWabanowin are distinct society of visionaries. Like theMidewiwin, theWaabanowin is a secretiveanimistic religion, requiring an initiation. But unlike theMide, theWaabano have sometimes two levels and sometimes four, with this variation being dependent on the particular lodge. They were systematically imprisoned inmental hospitals by the United States government in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Because of this persecution theWaabanowin went underground and have just begun to reemerge since the passage of theAmerican Indian Religious Freedom Act. The ceremonies and traditions are closely guarded.
TheJiisakiiwin are also known as theShaking Tent or theJuggler's Tent. Among the Anishinaabeg, a particularly powerful and well-respected spiritual practice. Those who had trained from childhood are called aJaasakiid orJiisakiiwinini, also known as a "Juggler" or "Shaking-tent Seer."
According to the oral history of the Anishinaabeg, they originally lived on the shores of the "Great Salt Water" (presumably theAtlantic Ocean near theGulf of St. Lawrence). They were instructed by seven prophets to follow a sacredmiigis shell (whiteshell) toward the west, until they reached a place where food grew upon the water.[2] They began their migration some time around 950,[3] stopping at various points several times along the way, most significantly atBaawitigong,Sault Ste. Marie, where they stayed for a long time, and where two subgroups decided to stay (these became thePotawatomi andOdawa). Eventually, after a trick by two of the clans, the other clans travelled west (see William Warren's account of this incident) and arrived at thewild ricing lands of Minnesota and Wisconsin (wild rice being the food that grew upon the water) and madeMooningwanekaaning minis (Madeline Island: 'Island of theyellow-shafted flicker') their new capital. In total, the migration took around five centuries.[3]
Following the migration there was a cultural divergence separating the Potawatomi from the Ojibwa and Ottawa. Particularly, the Potawatomi did not adopt the agricultural innovations discovered or adopted by the Ojibwa, such as theThree Sisters crop complex, copper tools, conjugal collaborative farming, and the use of canoes in rice harvest.[4]
Storytelling is one of the most important aspects of Anishinaabe life. Many Anishinaabe people believe that stories create worlds,[5] are an essential part of generational connection by way of teaching and listening,[6] and facilitate connection with the nonhuman, natural world.[7][8] Oral storytelling is often considered unimportant in settler colonial society; however, this form of communication, connection, and teaching has been used for centuries, and is still used to pass down Anishinaabe traditional beliefs through generations.[9]
Storytelling is often used to teach life lessons[10] relating to traditional and current beliefs. In Anishinaabe traditional stories, Nanabush, Amik (beaver), and Nokomis (grandmother figure) are important characters.[5] Anishinaabe stories feature activities and actions involving generation, an important concept among Anishinaabe peoples such as participating in ceremonies, experimenting with new ideas and people, and reflecting on the outcome of events.[11] Nanabush stories carry the message to young Indigenous peoples that it is okay to make mistakes, and that things are not always black and white.[12] This is different from many settler colonial narratives which usually clearly define story characters as good or bad.[13]
Amik (beaver) is a being in traditional Anishinaabe stories that creates shared worlds.[5] The stories of Amik’s creations and how Amik teaches their child about the world serves to provide a greater understanding of relationships and what is important in life. Nokomis (grandmother) is another being from Anishinaabe folklore. Nokomis and Nanabush stories are usually utilized to teach about important life lessons.[5]
Generational storytelling creates a bond between tribal elders and younger Indigenous people.[14] Elders are known as "knowledge keepers"[14] and are highly respected for their knowledge about stories, language, and history.[14] Teaching through storytelling and learning to listen and understand requires a strong connection between the storyteller and the ones hearing the story. In this way, storytelling connects generations of Anishinaabe people.
Nanabozho (also known by a variety of other names and spellings, includingWenabozho,Menabozho, andNanabush) is atrickster figure andculture hero who features as the protagonist of a cycle of stories that serve as theAnishinaabe origin belief. The cycle, which varies somewhat from community to community, tells the story of Nanabozho's conception, birth, and his ensuing adventures, which involve interactions withspirit and animal beings, the creation of the Earth, and the establishment of theMidewiwin. The myth cycle explains the origin of several traditions, includingmourning customs, beliefs about theafterlife, and the creation of the sacred plantasemaa (tobacco).
In Anishinaabe traditional belief, everything in the environment is interconnected and has important relationships with the things around it.[7] Non-humans, and ecosystems are viewed as having great worth and importance, in addition to humans.[5] One such relationship in Anishinaabe homeland (what is now known as the Great Lake region) is betweennmé (lake sturgeon),manoomin (wild rice),nibi (water), and humans.[7] Similar relationships are exemplified in stories. For example, in her bookA Short History of the Blockade, Leanne B. Simpson tells a story about Amik (beaver), stating "They [beavers] are consenting to giving up their bodies to help the Nishnaabeg feed their families."[5]
These relationships between humans and the other-than-human can continue to be used in current times with regard to conservation and the environment. According to Potawatomi scholarKyle Powys Whyte, "...indigenous conservationists and restorationists tend to focus on sustaining particular plants and animals whose lives are entangled locally—and often over many generations—in ecological, cultural and economic relationships with human societies and other nonhuman species."[7] Having an understanding of the relationships between humans and the other-than-human strengthens the desire to respect the environment and practice Nishnaabeg conservation.
The Seven Grandfather Teachings are traditional guiding principles for living a good life still in use by Anishnaabe peoples today. (They originate from the Potowatomi and Ojibwe tribes specifically.)[9] These teachings include wisdom, respect, love, honesty, humility, bravery, and truth, and are supposed to be practiced towards humans, the earth, and everything in the environment.[9] According to Leanne B. Simpson inA Short History of the Blockade, the Seven Grandfather Teachings were "...gifted to the Nishnaabeg by Seven Ancestors, a group of loving Elders and advisors that taught a young child these practices as recorded in one of our Sacred Stories." Each of the teachings has an animal that represents it.[5]