Doodem Discussion: CLAN CONFUSION

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Why it's hard to identify your true clan

Since there seems to have been a recent spate of discussions about clans going on, here is a quick clarification on the clan system of the Ojibwe people.

Despite some people claiming that clans come from the mother, the fact is that Ojibwe society was divided into patrilineal (male lineage) doodem-based clans, where the clan was derived from the male line (i.e. fathers to sons/daughters).  In no instance were clans taken from the mother.  Clan members were seen as close family and thus intermarriage was forbidden. Clan members viewed each other as close family members.

​There were strict rules of no marriage between clan members and doodem were used to delineate hunting and trapping areas, with the clan doodem often marked on trees or trails that could be read by others. A person was not supposed to eat or hunt their own clan animal, bird or fish.

In cases where there was a non-native father, or father was from a different tribe, the person would sometimes be granted the right to be designated by either the Migizi (bald eagle) or Waabizheshii (marten) clan depending on the area one lived.  The wolf clan (ma'iingan) was sometimes used if the father of the child was Dakota Sioux.

​Once the fur trade started in earnest (around 1800), the clan system was rapidly transformed as hunting stopped happening in small, defined areas and started to cross vast areas. Allegiances changed rapidly and families married out and across several different groups (Crees, Ojibwe, Assiniboine, etc). The growth of the Metis further changed and diminished the clan identity system with greater attachment to locations (trading posts or hunting areas) gaining prescendence.

It is VERY rare (although not impossible) for someone to actually know their clan nowadays, especially if they have significant Metis lineage or recent European ancestors.  This does not mean that a clan system cannot be re-established for the people with Ojibwe heritage, but it is very difficult.