The Chippewa tribe originally settled in North America’s Turtle Islands. This is in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This is considered to be the original settlement that their tribe had, basing on the records shown by birch bark scrolls recovered from Chippewa campsites.

Beliefs of the Chippewa Tribe

Because of their knowledge in trading, they eventually knew how to navigate through the seas, thus creating sea vessels in the form of canoes.  These canoes have benefited them as this improved their trading relationships with the other Native American tribes that were in North America. Through the passing of time, they knew how to travel long distances with new and improved canoes, thus reaching the Americas.

Culture of Chippewa tribe

The Chippewa tribe is identified as a people who shared the same culture and tradition despite them being in different places. This is mainly caused by the intervention of the Europeans in naming the various tribes that they encountered in the Age of Discovery.

The European explorers strategized a plan of naming the groups that they encountered throughout their travels and identified them based on the similar characteristics that they observed in their respective encounters.

Chippewa tribe: Belief

Based on their belief system, there were seven great Miigis that appeared to them. These Miigis were supernatural beings that appeared from the sky and featured the power of the sun within their bodies. According to their stories, these supernatural beings appeared to their forefathers in the Waabanakiing. The Waabanakiing means the Land of the Dawn or the Eastern Land. The powerful beings from the cosmos then taught them how to be civilized and to live the proper way of life.

It is said in the records of their shamans, that one of the seven great Miigis was too powerful. Because of the overflowing power that was raging through the body of the supernatural being, he had killed all the people of the Waabanakiing out of a sudden.

The remaining six Miigis beings remained in the land of the mortals to teach them various things about life, especially about farming, fishing, making shelters, and ethics of mortality over anything else. On the other hand, the Miigi who wreaked havoc to the Chippewa tribe vanished and went under the ocean.

It is also believed that the six great Miigis have established plans for the mortal Chippewans. These clans were symbolized by many kinds of animals. Fishes and other bird species are a few of them. This shows that animals were treated to be sacred and holy beings, sometimes even having the same status of men.

The Wawaazisii (Bullhead), Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker), Aan’aawenh (Pintail Duck), Nooke (Tender) and Moozoonsii (Little Moose) are the five original Anishinaabe Doodem that the Chippewa tribe believed in.

If the seventh Miigis being has stayed and has not vanished it was said that it would have established another clan that will be named the Thunderbird Doodem. This specific clan was said to potentially be the most powerful clan that would have possessed supernatural powers. But unfortunately, this did not happen because of the vanishing of the seventh Miigis being.

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