Teaching Stories, part 27: We All Come From the Same Place

zhaawano
May 2
4 min read

Updated: May 3

Iskigamizige-giizis (Boiling Sap Moon) - May 2, 2025

Emergence of the Miigis Grandfathers" painting by Zhaawano Giizhik

“We have forgotten that we all come from the same place, that all of our ancestry is rooted in the same place, and that human history is defined by migration. The most evolved societies have today forgotten their origins.” - Gustavo Aceves

Boozhoo, let's take some time to consider our origins as a people.

The ancestors of today's Ininewak/Cree and Ojibweg were once a single group or closely related peoples living in the Great Lakes region up to the area now known as Hudson Bay. They settled there by the end of the last Ice Age. At one point, a faction of these people ventured eastward in search of Waabanaki, the promised land at the sunrise. Upon reaching the Atlantic Ocean's edge, this group evolved into the Lenape, Abenakiig, Mi'kmaq, and others. Much later, after six miigis (seashell) spirits emerged from the Ocean to deliver a complex clanship system and a prophecy known as Seven Fires, part of this group returned to the Great Lakes region and beyond. These were the ancestors of today's Omàmiwininiwak (Algonquin), Ojibweg, Odaawaag, Bodewadmig (the latter three also referred to as "Three Fire Anishinaabe"), Anishininiwag (Oji-Cree), and others. The Three Fires Anishinaabeg regard the Lenape as their cultural grandfathers. Naturally, when this migrating group, who began identifying as Anishinaabeg ("Beings Who Were Born Spontaneously/From Spirit"), arrived, those now known as Ininewak (Cree), Mamaceqtaw (Menomini), Ozaakiiwaaki (Sauk), Meskwakihaki (Fox), and others still inhabited the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay regions. They essentially spoke the same language as the Anishinaabe newcomers, which makes sense since, in the distant past, before the ancestors of the Algonquin and the Three Fire Peoples left the Great Lakes in search of Waabanaki, they were already related.

The narrative above, especially the Anishinaabeg's migration to the East and return to the West, represents the official (Ojibwe-focused) history from a Midewiwin perspective. Other Algonkian-speaking nations have their own histories, which may differ from that of the Ojibweg. Recognizing the existence of numerous threads with diverse traditions is essential.

According to Ininewak (Cree) history keepers, they are an older Algonkian-speaking group compared to the Omàmiwininiwak and Three Fires Anishinaabeg. This is accurate. The same applies to the Nookezid (Nooke), Mamaceqtaw, Ozaakiiwaki, and others. They inhabited Gichigamiin long before the re-migrants from Waabanaki arrived.

The term Anishinaabe refers to all people who speak the Algonquian language, including the Shawano or Shaawanwaki (Shawnee) from the south. Culturally and linguistically, they are considered one People. Their oral history states that they originate from Ishpiming, the sky. "Anishinaabe" literally means "Spontaneous Beings," signifying "Those Who Are Born of Spirit," reflecting this celestial origin.

In summary, it's essential to recognize that names like Anishinaabe (plural: Anishinaabeg) and Ojibwe (plural: Ojibweg) emerged from globalization and do not necessarily represent the identities of the People before contact; using these broad terms doesn't fully capture the diverse historical narratives that contribute to the "tribal history" we understand today. Currently, "Anishinaabe" is often used as a broad term encompassing a wide range of ancient cultural identities. However, prior to European contact, when the People called themselves Anishinaabeg, they did not see themselves as a single Nation but simply as "human beings." Their world was not one of nations but rather of bands, clans, villages, and individuals. Anishinaabe Aki was not an "empire" in the European or Asian sense, but a vast area loosely connected by numerous cultural, economic, and political alliances and exchange networks. Instead of a singular cultural and political "tribal group," there were many distinct Anishinaabeg groups, often related through (clan) ancestry or marriage. These groups identified themselves with names such as Baawitigowininiwag, Makadewaagamiwininiwag, Gichigamiwininiwag, Gichiziibiwininiwag, Noopiming-dazhi-ininiwag, Amikwaa, Marameg, Andaawe, Nigigwak, Nookezid, and so on.

To read more about the migration journeys of the Three Fires Anishinaabeg, see Journey of Our People

To read more of the celestial origin of the Anishinaabeg Peoples, see Our Clans among the Stars

To read more about the Algonkian language, see A Brief History of the Algonkian Language