History of White Earth

_Elsa_

“Where are we?” asks Yeti. 

Chewy shakes his shoulders as he has no idea where they are.  A Native-American walks over to them.

“Hello, my name is Takoda which means friends to everyone,” says Takoda. “This is the Ojibwe Tribe and we are doing our traditional dance. You have landed in the White Earth. Would you like to learn our history?”

Chewy and Yeti look at each other. This might turn out to be a cool adventure! They introduce themselves as Takoda walks with them to the side and they all sit down.

‘All Indian tribes have names for themselves. The largest Indian group in Minnesota calls itself Anishinaabe, which means "the original people." Europeans named them Ojibwe. No one is exactly sure how this name developed. Perhaps it came from the Anishinaabe word "ojib," which describes the puckered moccasins worn by the people. Some Europeans had trouble saying Ojibwe, pronouncing it instead as Chippewa. But both these names refer to the same people. In Canada, the Anishinaabe call themselves Ojibwe. In the United States, many tribal members prefer the name Chippewa. So that is the name we will use in this history of White Earth Reservation.

As is true for all Chippewa living in Minnesota, the story of the White Earth people begins in ancient times in the eastern part of the United States. There their ancestors lived before coming to the forest and lake country of eastern and northern Minnesota. To understand the history of White Earth Reservation, it is necessary to understand the times that went before. Much of the story of American Indian people has been left out of history books. Most of these books were written by white historians who thought that the history of this land did not begin until Europeans visited it. But Indians, including the Chippewa, had full, rich cultures long before that. And they played a key role in the history of this country and state.’ (Source)

 History of the Ojibwe - The Ojibwe people have a long history within the Midwest and were here long before whites started pouring in looking for furs in the 1600s. Their histories date far back to days before anything was recorded, so the long past events come only in the traditional passing down of stories from generation to generation.

One of these longstanding ideas is that the Ojibwe nation was birthed around the Atlantic

Ocean, either in St. Lawrence or the Hudson Bay area. Due to climate change, they began a slow move west. They started to occupy areas around the Great Lakes in Michigan, Ontario and Wisconsin. They were a large group of people and were able to take territories from other tribes as needed. During the Beaver Wars, the Ojibwe fought with the Fox, Mundua, Huron, Winnebago and Iroquois, exerting their large force wherever it seemed needed. The Ottawa people were one of the few tribes that the Ojibwe were in close alliance with. They traded furs back and forth, and with the introduction of the French fur traders into the area, were able to acquire European goods through the Ottawa without much contact with whites. The advantage of having superior weapons was one of the reasons why the Ojibwe turned to more habitual wars with other natives.

 In 1737, a war with the Dakota people won the Ojibwe a large portion of Northern Minnesota, climaxing a long rivalry between the two tribes. The French were strong advocates for the Ojibwe, using them and other Indian allies to gain the most control of the land that they could, hoping to get better trade areas than the British. French diplomats convinced Ojibwe to attack certain tribes that might be in their way and provided guns and other weapons to insure their dominance. They also got some Ojibwe to come to their own home forts in Quebec and Montreal to defend against the British, establishing a firm alliance between the two.’ (Source)

Yeti is fascinated with this knowledge. He can’t wait to share it with Tiffi. 

Let’s continue - History continues …………..

Start at the beginning – Chewy and Yeti learn all about dream catchers