Anishinaabe Religion

Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief system of the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the Algonquin/Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Oji-Cree located primarily in the Great Lakes region of North America. The Anishinaabe have several medicine societies comprised of spiritual healers and their associated rituals. The Midewiwin is the Grand Medicine Society of the indigenous groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew. It is a secretive animistic religion, requires an initiation, then initiates progress through four levels, or degrees, of practice. Male Midew are sometimes called Midewinini, which can be very loosely translated into English as medicine man. The Waabanowin is the Dawn Society, often improperly called the "Magical Dawn Society". Its practitioners are called Waabanow. Like the Midewiwin, the Waabanowin is a secretive animistic religion requiring an initiation. Unlike the Mide, the Waabano have often only have two levels of expertise (but sometimes four). Waabano were systematically imprisoned in mental hospitals by the United States government in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Because of this, the Waabanowin went underground and have only just begun to reemerge since the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. The Jiisakiiwin are also known as the Shaking Tent or the Juggler's Tent. Among the Anishinaabeg, this medicine society has established a particularly powerful and well-respected spiritual practice. Those trained from childhood are called a Jaasakiid or Jiisakiiwinini, and are also known as a Juggler or Shaking-tent Seer. According to the oral history of the Anishinaabeg, they originally lived on the shores of the Great Salt Water (presumably the Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of St. Lawrence). They were instructed by seven prophets to follow a sacred miigis shell (whiteshell) toward the west until they reached a place where food grew upon the water. Eventually, they migrated to the wild ricing lands of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wild rice is a food that grows upon the water. Storytelling is one of the most important aspects of Anishinaabe life. Many Anishinaabe people believe that stories can create worlds and are an essential part of generational connection through teaching and listening. Storys can also facilitate a connection with the nonhuman, natural world. Anishinaabe stories feature activities and actions such as participating in ceremonies, experimenting with new ideas and people, and reflecting on the outcome of events. Nanabush stories carry the message to young Indigenous peoples that it is okay to make mistakes, and that things aren’t always black and white. Nanabush, half god and half human, was a teacher and a trickster often bent on making humans look foolish, but his jokes often backfired on him. He also was a hero and a creator who loved helping out his people and his animals by using the powers the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, had granted to him at birth. Currently, there are a number of established Anishinaabe writers who are following a pattern set by Nanabush. In addition to storytelling, Anishinaabe communities also have a long tradition of music. Anishinaabe art forms include birchbark and ash baskets and boxes, which traditionally featured designs made of porcupine quills.