The Anishinaabek

​The Ojibwe are the people of the forests, lakes, rivers, and prairies...

​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 Alberta and Montana.  The Ojibwe are perhaps one of the most widespread cultural groups in North America, extending from the eastern Great Lakes to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

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.

​In the United States there are three federally-recognized bands of Plains Ojibwe: Turtle Mountain, Rocky Boy, and the Little Shell Band.

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​The Otipemsuak

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​The Métis are the Otipemsuak, 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 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. ​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.