Chippewa Indian

Chippewa Indian. The Chippewa were Indians of the eastern forests. They originally lived near the Atlantic Ocean. But when sickness and death struck their village, they began to move west. The Chippewa Indian settled for a time along the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. Later they explored the shores and waters of lake Huron and built a large village at Sault Ste. Marie.

When the French explorer Nicolet visited Sault Ste.Marie in 1634 and 1639, he may well have smoked the calumet, with the Chippewa Indian. Spurred on by the fur trade, Chippewa Indians continued to move west. In the beginning of the 18th century, Chippewa warriors drove the Fox Indians from northern Wisconsin. The Chippewa Indian attacked the powerful Sioux. Shortly after 1736 they gained control of the area west of Lake Superior. With the Ottawa and Potawatomi- whom they had joined in a confederacy called the Council of the Three Fires.

The Chippewa Indians were hunter. Chippewa hunters told tales of tracking the moose or deer on snowshoes until the animals fell to the ground exhausted. Meanwhile in the large dome shaped wigwams covered with birch bark and bulrushes, the women repaired the torn clothing, cared for the children, chopped the firewood.

The Chippewa Indian were divided into numerous bands, each of which held hunting, fishing and gathering rights to a particular territory. A band was made of up 100 and 300 people. Each had a leader, who was often a war chief. The Chippewa Indian also had a clan system. Many clans might be represented in a single Chippewa band. The member of the same clan was never permitted to marry. Clan and bandleaders were held in high esteem, and warriors were paid much honor. But the Chippewa Indian held particular reverence for the medicine man.

The Medicine Man was the healer of the sick. He knew the cures of the major illnesses. He rubbed roots, herbs, or bark into open wounds and cured his patients. But the medicine man was more than a healer. He consulted the gods on the causes of illness. He was able to withstand great pain himself. He would foretell the future. Because he was believed to be on good terms with the gods, the Chippewa Indian thought that he could give away the evil spirits or permit them to flourish.

Medicine man and medicine women were all members of the secret Grand Medicine Society, or Midewiwin. A young man entering the society was taught the moral code of the Chippewa Indian and the names and uses of a few herbs. As he advanced in the society, he learned more about herbs, roots and vegetable poisons. All the instruction of the Midewiwin were written on birch-bark rolls, which were shown to a young man when he was initiated into the Midewiwin. The society’s annual celebration was a highlight in Chippewa Indian social life.

While the Midewiwin celebration was taking place, a young lad might be having a vision. In his dream he was visited, perhaps by the manito, the supernatural being that watched over the Chippewa Indian.

While many of their old customs have long disappeared, the Chippewa Indians themselves yet remain. They can be found on reservation lands in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. They number well over 40,000.