The Ojibwa Indians
The Eastern Woodland Culture in the north
At the time Europeans reached the shores of North America, the Ojibwa Indians were the largest tribe on the continent. They referred to themselves as Anishnabe - a word that means the people.
Anishnabe territory extended from the eastern seaboard, west to the headwaters of the Mackenzie River. The Ojibwa lands were bounded in the north by the sub-Arctic tundra and followed the Mississippi south to the Carolinas.
The vast territory wasn't homogenous
Within that immense region there were distinct tribal sub-cultures that had developed because of varying temperatures, lengths of the seasons, soil conditions and terrain. As well, transportation and communication being what it was in those days, people living in one region had few chances to learn what was happening thousands of miles away and either missed the opportunity to adapt to new ideas or simply created their own social quirks.
For example, the Cree were part of the pre-historic Eastern Woodland culture, and like the most northerly Ojibwa Indians, had adapted their lives to a part of the country covered with more coniferous evergreens than broadleaf hardwoods. Yet the Cree language is different to the tongue spoken by their Ojibwa cousins. The two languages are much like Spanish and Italian...they have an obvious common root...but speakers don't necessarily understand one another.
On the surface there is another glaring exception to the idea that Anishnabe culture extended throughout the region...that is, the strong presence of the Huron and Iroquois tribes who continually battled with their neighbours. Unlike Cree, the Iroquois language is not similar to the Anishnabe language, and because the Iroquois farmed they were a more sedentary society, but the glue that bound all the tribes together was their more or less cohesive spiritual view of the world and the social responsibilities imposed on each individual by their dodem association.
Ojibwa Food
All Ojibwa, even the most southerly ones who farmed, were hunter/gatherers. Hunting was done with spears, clubs and of course bows & arrows. An assortment of traps, snares and deadfalls were also useful in disabling or killing prey. The quarry could be deer, moose, elk and bear plus small animals and various birds. Fish of course were plentiful, as were seasonal crops of berries, nuts, roots, and seeds. The most important seed crop was zinzania palustris, the so-called wild rice.
Although maple syrup was an important part of the Ojibwa Indians diet in much of the territory, the Cree and their northern Ojibwa cousins couldn't harvest sap because maple trees didn't grow in their part of the world. They had to make due with the original Atkins low-carb diet...lots of protein with the addition of seasonal fruits, plant stocks and roots.
The Ojibwa Indians living south of the Great Lakes had access to all those food sources, but the climate and terrain also leant itself to agriculture. Better soil conditions and warmer climate allowed those Anishnabe to grow small gardens of corn, and beans - a skill that had migrated along the trade routes to the southerly Creek and Choctaw tribes.
Ojibwa Indians Houses
The Anishnabe people didn't build tipis...they made wigwams from bent saplings and covered the exterior with bark or hides. A small wigwam could be built in a day. More time was spent on constructing larger wigwams that could shelter a dozen or more people through severe winter weather.
