Introduction of Culture | globalization

Brief Introduction on Identity

The Ojibwa are a group of indigenous people in North America, mainly comprising of Southern Canada and Northern America. The Ojibwa are also part of a larger cultural group of Aboriginal people known as the Anishinaabe, who were part of the Algonquin indigenous tribes holding locations around Southern Canada, Northern America, and holding subsidiaries in Ontario. The name of the Ojibwe people is mainly not fully uncovered, as the language of the Ojibwe is a difficult one to learn. It comes under a similar word ojiibwabe which means “those who cook/roast until it pluckers”. The word was mainly referred to the moccasins that the Ojibwe people wore.

Language

The Ojibwe language is originally part of the Algonquian language family, who were actually a large indigenous group of people along the Atlantic Coast and into the interiors of the St. Lawrence River, around the great lakes. The language of the Ojibwe was officially known as Anishinaabemowin or Ojibwemowin. The language is the 4th most spoken amongst other First Nations tribes. However most of the language’s fluent speakers are mainly elders as the language has been almost depleted amongst the identity of many modern Ojibwe people of the current days. Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, Fox, and Shawnee, are other First Nation’s tribes and hold sister languages with the Ojibwe, as they live nearby them. This had allowed for the Ojibwe people to express their collective identity amongst other tribes, as they had shared a similar language.

Spiritual Beliefs

The Ojibwe have a number of spiritual beliefs passed down by oral traditions under the Midewiwin teachings. The Midewiwin teachings were also known as the Grand Medicine Society and was referred to as a secretive religion of a large portion of the indigenous people of North America. This includes a creation story of how the world began, and a recounting of the origins and ceremonies. The Ojibwe spirituality also centers around certain customs and beliefs, concepts, events, and objects. These include the sweat lodge (hut made from natural materials), pipes, drums, singing, the naming ceremony, vision questing,the Pow Wow, the medicine man or woman (shamans), and medicine bags. Spiritual beliefs were very important to the people of Ojibwe as the people believed spirits guided them through their life. The spiritual beliefs were also a collective identity of not just the Ojibwe people but a large portion of the First Nation’s as a whole.

Arts

The Ojibwe people were divided into 5 clans with each representing, oneself with totems. These totems were primarily based off of animals, such as cranes, birds, and bears. Crafts were also a major component to the arts of the Ojibwe as they had made many paintings resolving around current situations that they were in. The Ojibwe people had also included many of their arts which were famous alongside other First Nations groups such as birch bark baskets for capturing maple sap, willow baskets to harvest reeds, and toboggans for sledding. It deeply expresses the individual identities of the Ojibwe, becuase arts were able to show the Ojibwe peoples worldviews on things. Arts had also led other Ojibwe people to follow those who were majorly more attributed into their works, which had also led to a sense of role modelling.

Attire

The clothing that the Ojibwe people wore, had similar concepts during the seasons. During summer clothing comprised of buckskin, with men wearing breechcloths with moccasins on their feet. The moccasins of the Ojibwe people had a distinctive puffed seamed style, which was part of how the Ojibwe people got their name. Winter comprised of buckskin with outer garments of fur. The women wore deerskin dresses, leggings, moccasins, and petticoats made of woven nettle or thistle fibers. Clothing was also part of the Ojibwe traditions and the clothing had also expressed many aspects of the Ojibwe people's identity. The clothing style wasnt anything of the modern time and had also displayed signifance in how the Ojibwe people had expressed themselves at the time, as no one other tribe had dressed the exact same.