The traditional practices of one Ojibwe family, carried out through the seasons of the year and across the seasons of life, demonstrating the enduring power of culture and identity.
Today's Ojibwe people have maintained a dazzling array of deep, beautiful, adaptive ways of connecting to the spiritual, natural, and human beings around them. Variations in Ojibwe cultural practices are, of course, as diverse as their homelands, which stretch across the Great Lakes, Canadian shield, pine forests, and prairie potholes of four US states and three Canadian provinces. And Ojibwe culture, like every other culture, has changed over time. But these variations and changes have always followed a distinct path, reflecting an identifiably Ojibwe worldview. While the world around, in, and connected to Ojibwe spaces continues to envelop myriad cultures and peoples, the Ojibwe have found a way to stay recognizable to their ancestors.
In this book, Anton Treuer tells stories of one Ojibwe family's hunting, gathering, harvesting, and cultural ways and beliefs—without violating protected secrets. Following the four seasons of the year and the four seasons of life, this intimate view of the Ojibwe world reflects a relatable, modern, richly experienced connection to the rest of the planet. It also opens up a new way of understanding these living traditions, which carry thousands of years of cultural knowledge still in the making.
ISBN-13: 9781681342146
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication Date: 11-19-2021
Pages: 208
Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is the author of Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask and fourteen other books on Indigenous history and language.
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At the drum ceremonies, the main feast is set on tables—maybe a hundred bowls of venison, pork chops, wild rice hotdish, potato salad, beans, boiled eggs, and frybread. People who want to make special requests of the drum bring additional bowls of food and tobacco and ask for special prayers—to help a sick relative, to watch over a relative serving overseas as a soldier, or to remember a relative who had passed away and send food to them in the spirit world.
Archie Mosay's daughter Betsy was only a foot away, but she was staring at me. For the first time, she was looking at me the way she looked at her grandkids—stern, serious, and like she was ready to tune me up with her cane. "You're talking today. You followed my dad around these past years, and now I'm going to hear what you learned." There were thirteen bowls on the ground, each for a different request from a different person. Betsy had placed the first pouch of tobacco in my hand. "That's for my dad's spirit bowl." My hand shook. Then she lined up all the other people and had each tell me their Indian name and what their bowl was for. I had a pouch of tobacco between each finger on both my left and right hands and five more in my palms. Betsy leaned closer. "My dad never forgot what a bowl was for. And never forgot an Indian name. I'll be listening."
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Ojibwe Seasons
Spring: New Life
Summer: Coming of Age
Fall: Adulthood
Winter: Elderhood
Conclusion: Full Circle
Appendix 1: Bagese Rules
Appendix 2: Ojibwe Taboos, Sayings, and Superstitions
Index
Acknowledgments
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