The Culture of Ojibwe - Admission/Application Essay Example

The culture of Ojibwe Introduction In Native America, the Ojibwe or Ojibweis one of the significant groups and is among the First Nations peoples to reside in the North American continent. The area in which the Ojibwa resides in is in both the USA and Canada in which the only population that surpasses them is the Cree in the latter and the fourthlargest among the Native American tribes in the former nation. Their arrival in the North American continent was around 1500 in which historians believe that their name drew influence from the traditional moccasins that these people wore on their feet.The Ojibwealso named Chippewa under the Anishinaabeg group (True People) is a term that is commonly used in the USA while the Chippewa title is relatively applicable in Canada. Presently, the meaning of Ojibwe does not exist, but several attempted explanations exist in an attempt to draw the connotation of this name. The language of the Ojibwetribe is the Anishinaabemowin or in other quarters Ojibwemowin in which the fraction of population within both Canada and the USA has been on a steady decrease, but those that speak this language fluently are the elderly. In recent times, this trend has influenced movements aimed at restoring the Ojibwe culture by trying to revitalize the speaking of the Ojibwemowin language rather than leaving this culture to be that of the elderly (Peacock & Wisuri 28). With this background information, this essay will delve on their culture in terms of their way of living, survival methods, and inter clan systems that they used as part of their governance structure. The culture of the Ojibwe Ideally, the existence of culture for any ethnic group draws influence from the fact that the social characteristics of his community had to be handed down from one generation to the next as a way of preserving cultural heritage. The situation is relatively similar for them in that the learning about their culture has been the pillar in ensuring that the tribe a rich heritage despite the aspects of globalization that tend to influence new cultures. Essentially, the Their culture engaged in fishing and hunting as part of their culture, but in today’s society, people can no longer do so because of the changes in legislation that prohibits such practices. Other than this, children from this culture have adopted new lifestyles, meaning that they have no intentions of upholding the age-old traditions that their ancestors used to practice as part of their culture. According to history, the Ojibwe meaning ‘puckered up’ lived in groups or bands in which men hunted and fished while women engaged in the cultivation of maize and wild rice in order for their families to have food for their upkeep. These bands or groups of this cultureinitially lived in north of Lakes Huron and Superior in Canada in which they stretched to the west and south and also to eastern Canada in the Montana region. The regions in which the Ojibwa lived in included forests and water bodies such as lakes and rivers that provided the opportunity for them to practice hunting and fishing (Palazzo-Craig 37). Other than this, their culture also had characteristic of being semi-nomadic because they had to move in search of the resources that were spread out across the regions that they lived. These people also had survival tactics for every season in which the summers included the food gathering and collection process in preparation for winter and when winter came they also moved deeper into the forests in for the to hunt deers that provided them with hides for clothing. Another skill that the embedded in this culture was that they were able to dry meat that they could use later meaning that nothing that they hunted could go to waste. As part of their culture, they moved in thr summer to areas with sugar plantations in which they gathered maple syrup that they processed it into sugar syrup, which was used as seasoning all year through (Palazzo-Craig 17). Further, these people lived in structures known as manoomin that had characteristics of a dome and the wiigiwaam which had a pointed roof in which they covered them with mats and birch bark as a way of keeping them warm. These people also lived in a village setting during summers in which each village existed over a fifty mile radius as a way of allowing those in the village to access the resources that were available in their vicinity without the interference of others. Each band consisted of at least twenty to fifty people whose relationship ties was either by blood or marriage during the summers in which the Their culture lived in a village setting. As much as each band operated separately, they also interacted with other bands through trade, during cultural events and ceremonies meaning that they maintained a link to each other. In terms of kinship relationships, there was respect between brothers and sisters that also translated to them having the same towards their parents and grandparents. Interestingly, cross cousins were potential marriage candidates in which the society permitted for them to flirt with each other harmlessly as long as they maintained a joking relationship. They maintained a patrilineal system of kinship in which the birth of children meant that they belonged to their father’s clan whereas those fathered by the French or English were not considered as part of the clan. The naming of each clan drew influence from animals, fish or birds in which some clans could engage in incestuous relationships while another could not (Ballinger 51). The clans included phratries such as fish, cranes, loon, bear and marten in which each of these also had various clusters within them. In terms of leadership and government systems, the Ojibwe people were not concrete in that most of those in this society argues that there certain aspects of inequality. Essentially, leaders among the Ojibwe people gained respect through the significant contributions that they made to the bands that they lived in. For instance, a leader gained recognition from excelling in war or them being influential spiritual leaders, but this only led them to gaining prestige and did not necessarily translate to them being powerful. In many cases, those that qualified as band leaders used to be those that were remarkable hunters in which they also had to display qualities that could hold the band together. The spiritual leaders within a band, the shamans were also influential in these societies because of the spiritual power that they possessed in which the Ojibwe people believed that they were powerful. Interestingly, band members were free to relocate fromone band to another in case of irreconcilable disagreements in which settling in their new found villages was not so challenging as witnessed in other societies. Religion In terms of their religious culture, the Ojibwe believed in traditional medicines as a way of healing them, in which they used to make their own treatments where many of them still practice this aspect to date. The traditional medicines coupled with certain aspects of spirituality as part of their healing ritual. The Ojibwe had to appease the spirits in which this was part of the job description of the shamans where these spiritual leaders had to offer food and tobacco offerings during the prayer sessions (Palazzo-Craig 39). Through this fact, the Ojibwe feared the shamans because of the supernatural abilities that they perceived them to have and because they could have visions (Peacock & Wisuri 31). As part of the healing ritual, the shamans used to literally suck the sources of illnesses from the body parts that were ailing them and also performed the shaking tent rites as a way of identifying the possible cause of illnesses. Other than healing, the shamans also gave out charms to the Ojibwe people, which served different purposes such as attracting love or protecting them against spirits. However, religion was a personal aspect, but there were certain rituals whose performance was applicable to homes within bands. Part of the spiritual beliefs are a creation story that attempts to explain the origin of the Ojibwe people, which helps each generation to understand the rituals and spiritual ceremonies that they conduct. In essence, the Ojibwe people believed that spirits provided with the guidance that they needed through their lives hence explaining the kind of respect that they had for these beings. During the spiritual ceremonies, the Ojibwe made use of pictographs, petroforms, and bark scrolls as a way of handing down knowledge concerning these ceremonies (Pomedli 45). They also had sweat lodgesmade of wood and stones that were essential in steam bathing, which formed of the purification ritual that they conductedas part of their ritualistic practice. Other than this, the Ojibwe also believed in the power of the Dreamcatcher in which their belief was that these crafts were able to trap bad dreams before they could reach the one that was asleep. As much as the Ojibwe believed in spirits that played different roles, there was alsothe belief in one force that was behind the creation of all that existed in the universe. Traditional healing In addition, the Ojibwe had medicine lodges named Midewiwin that served as a communal religious gathering in which the teachings here sought to influence good health and prolonged lives (Pomedli 44). Therefore, the most basic component of the Ojibwe’s spiritual culture was that spiritual health and positive individual behavior were key in ensuring that these people remained united and committed to their culture. Most of the practices that the Ojibwe had in the past are visible today in that most of these participate in annual rituals such as the niimi’idimaa and jiingotamong, which are spiritual gatherings in summer. In the past, their culture used to bury their dead in burial hounds that carried the clan sign from the deceased belonged to making them to be distinctive as compared to other tribes. Social relarions On the contrary, these people also believed in the gift giving as an important social aspect in which those that gave more attracted prestige and honor because it was an expression of how much wealth they had for themselves and their families. Later, traders from Europe used the gift-giving aspect as a way of establishing economic relationships between them and the Ojibwe communities as this helped in developing mutual ties. These interactions later influenced the introduction of trade between this Native Indian tribe and the British, French and American traders that led to them acquiring the essentials such as blankets, clothing, utensils, and firearms among a list of other items. Therefore, the lives of the Ojibwe improved after 1800 as these people began to rely on the trade goods such as knives as part of their daily life. In addition, they relied in these goods in making their lives more prosperous because these commodities increased their efficiency in their day to day living. As a result, the fur trade was significant in establishing political and economic systems in the nineteenth century in which the Europeans intermarried with the Native Indians. In summary, the culture of the Ojibwe is one that has attracted the interest of anthropologists and archaeologists because of the uniqueness presented in each aspect. Essentially, these people lived in temporary bands during the summer in which they engaged in hunting and gathering within a specified radius so as to avoid inter-band conflicts. Their religious culture is also an interesting one as they believed in a supreme being alongside spirits that are essential in providing guidance to the Ojibwe. Further, spiritual leaders were also influential among the Ojibwe because they instilled fear among the community members because of their ability to suck out illnesses from the bodies of those that were ailing. Part of the reason why the Ojibwe culture has remained relevant is because of the ways in which they impart knowledge to their generations through pictographs and other materials as those born into their clans were able to understand the rituals and practices that the shamans undertook. In addition, their culture was liberal because it allowed disgruntled members within a band to move to another one in order for them to be settled. Lastly, Ojibwe tribe is a distinctive one because of its cultural attribute and heritage that has led to their recognition by both the US and Canada. Works cited Ballinger, Franchort. Living Sideways: Tricksters in American Indian Oral Traditions. Univ of Oklahoma Pr, 2006. Print. Palazzo-Craig, Janet. The Ojibwe of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. New York: PowerKids Press, 2005. Print. Peacock, Thomas D, Marlene Wisuri, and Winona LaDuke. Ojibwe: Waasa Inaabidaa = We Look in All Directions. Afton, Minn: Afton Historical Society Press, 2009. Print. Pomedli, Michael M. Living with Animals: Ojibwe Spirit Powers. , 2014. Print. Read More