Chippewa Native Americans are part of the Chippewa Nation, made up of around 150 different tribes or bands, also known as Ojibwa, Ojibway or Ojibwe. They have their own government and live in modern houses, but also preserve their traditional language, culture, and crafts.
A Chippewa Native American is a member of the Chippewa Nation, an indigenous North American group that lived primarily in what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the United States, and Ontario and Saskatchewan in Canada. The Chippewa nation is made up of approximately 150 different Chippewa tribe or band groups, and a Chippewa Native American may also refer to himself or herself as part of the Ojibwa, Ojibway, or Ojibwe nation. All the different spellings refer to the same group of people.
In Canada, Ojibway is the most commonly used spelling and pronunciation. It and Chippewa mean puckered in the Algonquin Native American language, and most think the name comes from the puckered style of shoes or moccasins historically worn by the Chippewa. The Chippewa language is so closely related to Algonquin that it is considered a dialect. The Chippewa are called Anishinabe, which in their language means the original people.
Chippewa Native American communities each have their own organization and government on reservations in the United States and what are called reservations in Canada. Leaders of Chippewa Native American groups are called ogimaa or gimaa and are democratically elected to serve on councils. In the past, a chief was male and often belonged to the previous chief’s family. Today, any Chippewa Native American member, male or female, can run for office.
Historically, both Chippewa Native American men and women worked together to harvest wild rice. They also traditionally performed many of the same tasks, such as gathering and preparing plants for medicine, telling stories, and creating art and music. They lived in two types of dwellings: a wigwam, a domed structure made of bark called a waginogan, and a tent made of buffalo skins called a tipi. Waginogans were mainly used by those who lived in wooded areas, while those who hunted buffalo and needed to move more often to follow the herd lived in portable tipis.
Today, the average Chippewa Native American lives in a modern house or apartment and speaks English as well as the native Chippewa or Ojibway language. Chippewa Native American industries include gambling, which is operated in casinos on tribal land, and crafts, such as beading on clothing and basketry. Many of the reservations also have facilities to promote tourism, such as museums, hotels and shops.
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