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The Chippewa proudly referred to themselves as Anishinabe meaning “The Original People.” The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa is primarily members of the Pembina Band of Chippewa. Descendence may include intermarriage with other Chippewa bands, Cree, and other nations who make up the membership of the Turtle Mountain Band.
The name Chippewa, a mispronunciation of Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, and Anishinabe are all names that refer to the same group of people. The word “Ojibwa” refers to “something puckered up.” One theory is that it comes from the way in which the people made their moccasins. For the purpose of this discussion, the term “Ojibway” is used when referring to the tribe’s early history. The term “Chippewa” is used after European contact.
The Ojibway are members of the Algonquin language group which are located from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains and from Hudson Bay to North Carolina. Other tribes in this language group are the Cree, Ottawa, Sauk, Fox, Menominee, Potawatomi, Miami, Shawnee, Delaware, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, and the Arapaho. This classification by language has been established by scholars, but this does not mean that the tribes are closely related or that they were allies.
The Ojibway of this continent have their own creation story. The following creation story has been recorded on birch bark scrolls and passed down orally through generations. The Ojibway believe they have always lived in North America. It was during the winter season that elders recounted tribal stories and events. The Ojibway describe their beginning in the following creation story.
When Ah-ki’ (the Earth) was young, it was said that
the Earth had a family. Nee-ba-gee’sis (the moon) is
called Grandmother, and Gee’-sis (the Sun) is called
Grandfather. The Creator of this family is Kitchie
Man-i-to’ (Great Mystery or Creator). The Earth is said
to be a woman. In this way it is understood that a
woman preceded man on Earth.Long ago, Kitchi Manitou had a dream. He saw the
sky filled with the sun, earth, moon and stars. He
saw the earth covered with mountains and valleys,
lakes and islands, prairies and forests. He saw trees,
flowers, grass and fruit. He saw all manner of beings
walking, flying, crawling and swimming. He saw birth,
growth, and death. And he saw some things that lived
forever. Kitchi Manitou heard songs and stories, he
touched wind and rain, and he experienced every
emotion.After his dream, Kitchi Manitou made rock, water,
fire, and wind. Into each he breathed life and to each
he gave a different essence and nature. From these
four elements Kitchi Manitou created the stars, sun,
moon, and earth. Kitchi Manitou gave special powers
to all of his creations. To the sun he gave the power
of light and heat. To the earth he gave growth and
healing. To the water he gave the power to purify and
renew. And to the wind, he gave the voice of music
and the breath of life.On the new earth, Kitchi Manitou made mountains,
valleys, plains, lakes, islands, and rivers. Everything
had its place on the new earth. Next, Kitchi Manitou
sent his singers in the form of birds to the Earth
to carry the seeds of life to all of the Four Directions.
[He organized the world by the Four Directions: Wauban
(east), Shawan (south), Ningabian (west), and Keewatin
(north). Two other sacred directions were the Sky above
and the Earth Below. (Tanner 1992) In this way life was
spread across the earth. The Creator made the plants.
There were four kinds: flowers, grass, trees, and
vegetables. To each plant he gave the spirit of life,
growth, healing, and beauty. And he placed each one
where it would be most beneficial. Kitchi Manitou then
created the animals and gave each of them special
powers. All of these parts of life lived in harmony
with each other......Kitchi Manitou then took four parts of Mother
Earth and blew into them using a Sacred Shell from
the union of the Four Sacred Elements and his
breath, man was created.It is said that Kitchi Manitou then lowered man to
the Earth. Thus, man was the last form of life to be
placed on the Earth. From this Original Man came the
A-nish-i-na’-be people. In the Ojibway language if you
break down the word Anishinabe, this is what it means:
from whence
lowered
the male of the species
Kitchi Manitou created us in his image. We are
natural people. We are a part of the Mother Earth.
We live in brotherhood with all that is around us.
Although last and weakest of his creations, we
were given the greatest gift of all, the power to
dream. Thus, Kitchi Manitou has brought his
dream to life. (Benton-Benai, 1979)
Man, as the last of Kitchi Manitou’s creation, regarded plants, animals, and all of creation as elders because those life forms were created first.
Stories were always a way of teaching. The following legend refers to the Ojibway’s oral legend of the great flood.
Sky Woman looked down upon the waters that
covered the earth after the great melting of the ice.
She saw a Giant Turtle (who was called Mekinok) in
the water and came down to stand upon his strong
back. Then, she summoned Muskrat whom we all
know as a strong, determined swimmer. Sky Woman
told Muskrat to dive down into the water as far as
he could—to find a part of the earth. Three times he
dived, but came up empty. The fourth time, Muskrat
was gone a very long time. Sky Woman grew weary,
but She waited patiently and prayed. Finally, she saw
a gleam of bubbles far down in the depths. Soon,
Muskrat broke the surface of the water gasping for
breath, but he had a piece of mud in his paws. Sky
Woman thanked Muskrat and told him that he would
always have a home on the land and in the water as
well. She then took the wet dirt into the palm of her
hand, dried it and blew gently, to the north, to the
east, the south and the west. Wherever the dust from
the dirt went, land came up around the Giant Turtle.
Soon the land completely encircled Mekinok. And
Mekinok became Turtle Island, the center of the
world and the birthplace of the Anishinabaug, the
original people. As the land grew, even Mekinok
became covered with top soil and the Anishinabaug
called him Mekinok Wajiw (the mound of earth that is
a turtle). Today, it is called Turtle Mountain. (Turtle
Mountain Community College Self-Study, 1993)
Many tribes have stories which include a “spirit or trickster” character. This character’s role was to explain and teach lessons of value. Nanabozoho is a spirit character of Ojibway legends.
An elderly woman lived with her daughter in a
small home in the woodland country. The old
woman warned her daughter not to sit facing the
West. One day when the sun was warm and shining
bright, her daughter forgot her mother’s warning
and went outside and sat facing West. Suddenly she
felt the cool west breeze chill her body. She ran to
tell her mother what had happened. “You should have
listened to me,” said her mother. Soon, the daughter
became ill. Before she died, she dripped blood onto a
piece of bark that was in the room. The old lady put
her daughter to rest and placed the bark aside. One
day she looked at the bark and found that the drop of
blood on the bark had begun to grow. She watched it
grow until it grew into a baby. “What is happening?”
she asked. “O Nokomis! Do you know me?” asked the
baby. “I am your grandson, Nanabosho.” (Johnston,
1979)
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North Dakota Studies |