Dibaajimowin

Welcome
The Ojibwe People
The Métis People
The Cree People
Dibaajimowin Blogs

Boozhoo! Aniin! Tawnshi!

Welcome to Dibaajimowin.

Dibaajimowin means "storytelling" in the Ojibwe language, and this site is dedicated to telling the stories of the Anishinaabe people, and related groups, who live on the Great Plains and in the forests of North America.

The site contains countless stories, videos, pictures, and valuable links to information that can help gain a clearer understanding about the history and culture of the amazing people who make up the nation. The idea behind the site is to have a place where this information can be easily collected, preserved, and disseminated to the public, so that our people and our children can learn from them and continue the way of our ancestors who shared knowledge through the stories we told about ourselves.

If you enjoy our content, make sure to share with your friends and families. If you do choose to share, please make sure to give us credit for our work, so that we can keep the information spreading in a good way.

Please enjoy!

dibaajimowin ni a narrative; a story

The Ojibwe People

The Ojibwe comprise numerous communities in the United States in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana, and in Canada in Ontario, southern and central Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The most common explanation of the name "Ojibwe" is said to be related to a root word meaning "puckered up," in reference to the distinct style of moccasin worn by the Ojibwe. Ojibwe speakers commonly refer to themselves as Anishinaabeg, a term meaning humans (as opposed to non-humans/whites).

Before European contact, the Ojibwe homeland was in the eastern US along the coast. Following a long migration, the Ojibwe soon spread along the eastern and northern shores of Lake Huron, up the northeastern shore of Lake Superior, and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before moving even further west into Minnesota, western Ontario, and Manitoba. During the fur trade, the Ojibwe moved out onto the plains of North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and as far west as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Montana.

The Ojibwe language (Ojibwemowin) is considered part of the "Algonquian language family". There are several dialects. Southern Ojibwa speakers include the Ottawas and Chippewas of southern Ontario, Manitoulin Island, and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. To the east, the Nipissing and Algonquin represent another speech community, while western and northern Ojibwa speakers again represent other dialectal variants. The northern Ojibwa speak a dialect increasingly known as Ojicree or Oji-Cree, which resulted from intermarriage and contact with nearby Cree communities.

Names often used to describe the Ojibwe in common use, literature or scholarly works include: Ojibwa, Ojibwe, Chippewa, Mississauga, Nipissing, Algonquin, Plains Ojibwa, Bungi, Saulteaux or Sauteurs, Ojicree or Oji-Cree, although the proper term to use is Anishinaabeg.

The Métis People

The Métis are the “Otimpemsuak,” or “The People who own Themselves.”

During the fur trade in west-central North America during the 18th century, intermarriage between local Ojibwe, Cree, Assiniboine, and other tribal people and Europeans became increasingly common. This resulted in a growing number of mixed-blood offspring who began to work in the fur trade industry and coalesce in areas such as Red River settlement (Manitoba). As this mixed-blood population progressed over several generations, they began to establish distinct communities separate from (but still loosely connected to) those of their Indians and Europeans forebearers, and started to marry among themselves, creating new kinship networks and a cohesive population that resulted in a growing sense of unity and shared identity. A new Aboriginal people emerged – the Métis people – with their own unique culture, traditions, language (Michif), way of life, and a collective consciousness and desire for nationhood.

While Red River remained the heart of the Métis nation, distinct Métis communities developed in along the various trade routes across the northern Plains in places like Pembina, Turtle Mountain, Batoche, Wood Mountain, Cypress Hills, and west towards Montana and Alberta. Literally hundreds of communities arose within this Métis Nation Homeland, that includes the three Prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, as well as, parts of western Ontario, and the Northern United States. Connected Métis communities also exist in eastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories as well. Today, several of these historic Métis communities continue to exist, with the largest concentration of Métis existing at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota (an Ojibwe reservation that accepted Métis during the 1890s). As well, large numbers of Métis citizens now live in urban areas such as Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, and Saskatoon.

While some may argue for communities of mixed-bloods existing in eastern Canada (eastern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces), these communities were not associated with the Métis Nation and are not related to the Métis culturally, linguistically, or by kinship. In some cases, newly formed groups in eastern Canada - consisting of non-Métis claiming to be Métis based on DNA tests or genealogical finds of far distant ancestors - have grown. These groups tend to try to appropriate Métis culture to seek to infringe on indigenous rights.

Baptiste Necomis (1919)

Cyril Frederick (photo taken near Drayton, ND)

The Cree People

The Cree are a Sub-arctic group whose name is derived from the name of specific bands in the region between Lake Superior and Hudson Bay, known to the French, from the Ojibwe word for them: “Kiristino,” later shortened to “Cree.” The meaning is unknown. Historically, the Cree occupied the subarctic and boreal forests from Hudson and James bays westward to the Peace River in what is now Canada. The Cree were bounded on the north by Athapaskan-speaking peoples including the Chipewyan, on the northwest by the Slavey, and on the west by the Beaver. To the south were the Blackfeet, Piegan, Blood, Ojibwe, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboin.

Earliest contacts with Europeans were with the French near Lake Superior, beginning after 1640, and with the English at Hudson's Bay Company forts on Hudson and James bays after 1670. Thereafter, the Cree became full participants in the fur trade and they began to move west into the northern prairies and adopted plains elements into their culture through contact with the Assiniboine. They also maintained close contact with many Ojibwe groups and intermarried with them as well.

In addition to their close ties and kinship relations to the Assiniboine and Ojibwe, the Cree intermarried with European fur traders - leading to many Metis to have strong ties to the Cree.

The Cree call themselves Ne·hiyawak ("we speak the same language").

Today, Cree communities can be found in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana (USA). There is also a strong connection to the Ojibwe/Metis community at Turtle Mountain (North Dakota) where many people have Cree ancestry and kinship ties.