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Ojibwa Facts & Worksheets

The Ojibwa, often commonly known as “Chippewa” or “Anishinaabe”, are the most heavily populated indigenous tribes in North America.

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The Ojibwa, often commonly known as “Chippewa” or “Anishinaabe”, are the most heavily populated indigenous tribes in North America. They are the fifth-largest population among the Native American peoples and the second-largest First Nations population.

See the fact file below for more information on the Ojibwa or alternatively, you can download our 28-page Ojibwa worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

History

  • The names Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations came from the umbrella name Anishinaabeg. 
  • “Ojibwa or Ojibwe” and Chippewa are different spellings of the word “otchipwa” meaning, ‘to pucker’.
  • The Ojibwa people are mostly found in United States, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada primarily in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
  • With proofs from the Ojibwa oral history and archeological evidence, the ancestors of the Ojibwa slowly moved in small groups following the Great Lakes westward.  
  • They have migrated from the Atlantic Ocean and even Hudson Bay, to the St. Lawrence Seaway and up to the Straits of Mackinac. 
  • They had continued expanding and were able to meet French fur traders in 1623.
  • In the 16th Century, the Anishinaabeg were divided into two namely Potawatomi and the Odawa.  
  • They settled at Boweting, Gichigamiing, near Sault Ste. Marie on Lake Superior.
  • During the 17th century, they were again divided.
  • Some were traveling towards “La Pointe” on Madeline Island on Wisconsin’s Chequamegon Bay. 
  • During the Fur Trade era, the Ojibwa highly valued their relationship with the Dakota people. 
  • The Ojibwa had agreed to provide fur trade goods to the Dakota while in return, the Ojibwa will be allowed to move west towards Mississippi River.
  • For the Ojibwa, the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers were a place of diplomacy and trade. 
  • Mni Sni (Coldwater Spring) was the place they usually meet with the Dakota people. 
  • After the European Americans arrived, they also often went to the area to trade, treat the US Indian Agent, and sign treaties.
  • For about 57 years, the Ojibwa and Dakota were in a very good relationship, until the year 1736-1760, when an intense territorial conflict happened which led to a deadly battle.
  • In the 1800s, the conflict was abandoned as both tribes were swamped with challenges brought by a surge of European American settler-colonists.
  • When the fur trade economy collapsed, dispossession of land through treaties and the creation of reservations changed the lives of the Ojibwa people.
  • This also caused them to be left with a small portion of their homelands.
  • The first Europeans who maintained contact after the fur traders to the Ojibwa were missionaries called “Calvinist New Englanders”.
  • They were associated with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).
  • They were welcomed by the Ojibwa community and were seen by the tribe as agents of alliance with the Europeans. 
  • However, the ABCFM saw their roles as merely converting the people into Christians. 
  • Despite internal conflicts, Ojibwa people were able to learn about the European plans and lifestyles.
  • The Ojibwa had become alarmed by the decline for both game and fur-bearing animals in their country. 
  • According to them, the decline was due to the growing number of European Americans. 
  • Another problem that arose was those commercial interests that used logging activities to build roads and homesteads.
  • As a solution, some Ojibwa people responded by depending more on agriculture mainly wild rice. 
  • Technology, tools, and equipment of the foreigners were said to be useful as promotions.  

Language

  • The Ojibwa speak a branch of Algonquian language known as “Anishinaabem” or “Ojibwemowin”. They also speak the Chippewa and Ojibwa language.

Way of Living

  • Ojibwa’s prehistoric livelihood was based on hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild rice. 
  • Men were engaged in fishing and hunting while women cultivated maize and squash and harvest manoomin or wild rice.
  • They lived in wigwams and traveled inland waterways through birchbark canoes.
  • Their communities were based on clans or “doodem” which determined a person’s stand in the Ojibwa society. 

Society and Politics

  • Different clans represented different aspects of society.
  • Political leaders came from the loon or crane clans and warriors were traditionally from the bear, martin, lynx, and wolf clans. 
  • The tribe was also divided into migratory bands. 
  • Except for the Great Plains bands, most of the Ojibwa people lived with a sedentary lifestyle. 

Religion and Beliefs

  • The traditional Ojibwa religion is called Midewiwin. 
  • This honors promises and elders. 
  • Their values behave moderately and in connection with the natural world.
  • The belief is also accompanied by ancient medicine and healing practices which is based on the understanding of the ethnobotany of Ojibwa regions from where they reside.
  • This includes songs, dances, and ceremonies. 
  • The Anishinaabeg also believed that humans are comprised of a physical body with 2 souls. 
  • The first one is called “jiibay” which refers to the soul seated on intelligence and experience which leaves the body when asleep or when in a daze.
  • The second soul called “ojichaag” is said to be seated in the heart and will remain there until freed from death. 
  • Today, there are a lot of converted Catholic and Episcopal Christian Ojibwa but some of them still continue their traditional practice of spiritual and healing components.

Ojibwa Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Ojibwa across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Ojibwa, often commonly known as “Chippewa” or “Anishinaabe”, are the most heavily populated indigenous tribes in North America. They are the fifth-largest population among the Native American peoples and second-largest First Nations population. Right now, they live in more than 130 federally recognized communities in Canada and 22 in the United States.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Ojibwa Facts
  • Acrostic Poem
  • Identification
  • Guess the Word
  • True or False
  • A or B?
  • Infographic
  • Season
  • Ojibwa Diagram
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Let’s Draw!

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Link will appear as Ojibwa Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 6, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.