Chippewa

The Chippewa, also known as Ojibwe or Ojibwa, are an Indigenous people of the Anishinaabe group whose traditional homelands lie around the western Great Lakes in Canada and the United States. The name Chippewa is an exonym from French and English usage; Ojibwe (also spelled Ojibwa or Ojibway) is the name favored by the people themselves. Etymologies of Ojibwe are debated, but the term is widely used in scholarly and community contexts.

Language and culture are central to Ojibwe identity. They speak Ojibwe, an Algonquian language with several dialects, part of the larger Anishinaabe language continuum. Ojibwe cultural practices include a strong ecological knowledge of the region, traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering, and the cultivation of the Three Sisters crops (corn, beans, and squash). Distinctive material culture includes birchbark canoes and clothing made from locally sourced materials. Social and spiritual life features clan systems and associations such as the Midewiwin, a traditional ceremonial society.

Territory and political history. Historically, Ojibwe communities inhabited a broad area around the Great Lakes, extending into parts of Ontario, Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Dakota. They have been part of the Three Fires Confederacy with the Odawa and Potawatomi. In contact with European colonial powers, Ojibwe people engaged in the fur trade and formed extensive treaty relationships with the United States and Canada, resulting in land cessions and the establishment of reserves and treaty rights.

Today, Ojibwe communities continue in reservations and urban areas, preserving language and culture while engaging in rights restoration, education, and cultural revitalization efforts.