Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States, including the Ojibwe (also spelled Ojibwa or Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa), and Potawatomi. The name Anishinaabe means “original people” or “good people” in their languages. They are part of the broader Algonquian language family and are linked by shared linguistic and cultural traditions, including the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi.

Their language, Anishinaabemowin, encompasses a family of related dialects within the Algonquian branch. Many communities continue to speak the language while also using English or French, and revitalization efforts are ongoing in schools and cultural programs. Social organization historically included clan or kinship networks that guided marriage, leadership, and responsibilities within communities.

Traditionally inhabiting the Great Lakes region, their territories span parts of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the U.S. states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. The Three Fires Confederacy united the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi in alliance for defense and shared resources. They engaged in hunting, fishing, gathering, and farming, and played a major role in the regional fur trade and treaty relations with European powers.

Today, Anishinaabe communities are recognized as First Nations in Canada and as tribes or nations in the United States. They maintain ceremonial practices such as the Midewiwin (Grand Medicine Society), traditional canoe building, and beadwork, while addressing language preservation, treaty rights, land and resource governance, and cultural continuity.