Ojibwe Treaty RightsUnderstanding & Impact

ForewordThis is the fifth edition of Ojibwe Treaty Rights: Understanding &

Impact, a booklet first produced to provide a resource for younger readers. Itis hoped that the publication will introduce the reader to Ojibwe history andculture as well as the modern day exercise of treaty rights and resourcemanagement of the tribes.

The fifth edition is published by the Great Lakes Indian Fish & WildlifeCommission (GLIFWC), which represents eleven Ojibwe bands who holdtreaty hunting, fishing and gathering rights in northern Michigan, Wisconsinand Minnesota. Consequently, the booklet focuses on the activities of theseOjibwe bands.

The first edition was produced through funding from the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, OHDS/Administration for NativeAmericans. Ojibwe words used in the text are based on A Concise Dictionaryof Minnesota Ojibwe, edited by John Nichols and Earl Nyholm.

Credits:Writer, first edition: H. James St. Arnold

Writer/editor, second-fifth edition: Sue EricksonLayout/design: Lynn Plucinski

Photography: GLIFWC staff

For further information contact:Public Information Office (PIO), GLIFWC, P.O. Box 9, Odanah, WI 54861, phone(715) 685-2150 or email pio@glifwc.org. This booklet can be downloaded fromGLIFWC’s website at www.glifwc.org. Copies can also be ordered from PIOfor $2.00 each.

© Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, March 2006. All rights reserved.

Resource MaterialsThe following is a partial list of materials published and/or distributed by GLIFWC’s Public

Information Office. Please contact us by email: pio@glifwc.org; write: GLIFWC, P.O. Box 9, Odanah,WI 54861 or visit our website www.glifwc.org or phone (715) 685-2150.

A Guide to Understanding Ojibwe Treaty Rights—The guide contains the pertinent treaties,discusses the nature of treaty rights, provides historical background on the treaty rights, and detailstribal resource management and GLIFWC activities. © 2006—$3.00 each.

Seasons of the Ojibwe—The 2002 edition details GLIFWC activities and harvest totals for major off-reservation tribal hunting, fishing, and gathering seasons. © 2002

Ganawenimaa nimamainan aki (Respect the Earth)—This publication is a twenty-page environ-mental activity booklet for elementary level youth. It offers basic information about the LakeSuperior watershed, its inhabitants and encourages conservation and respect of the water. © 2006—First one is free, $1.00 each thereafter.Fishery Status Update—As a follow-up to the 1991 Casting Light Upon the Waters report, the JointFishery Steering Committee released this report summarizing findings from the last nine years ofjoint assessment and fishery management activities. These are available at no charge.

Cultural posters—GLIFWC produces a new poster annually. 1st one free, $2.00 each thereafter.

MAZINA’IGAN—A quarterly newspaper emphasizing treaty issues and treaty resource managementactivities. Subscriptions are available at no charge.

Growing up Ojibwe—This 20 page supplement to the Mazina’igan is written for elementary studentsand contains activities. 1-5 copies free; 6 or more 25¢ each thereafter.Iskigamizigan (Sugarbush): A Sequel to Growing up Ojibwe—This 12 page supplement takes youthrough the various steps involved in gathering and processing maple sap. 1-5 copies free; 6 ormore 20¢ each thereafter.

Brochures—Ojibwe Treaty Rights & Resource Management; Wild Rice • Ecology–Harvest–Manage-ment; Lake Superior Indian Fishery; Enforcement of Off-Reservation Treaty Season; Tribal FishHatchery Production; Sandy Lake Tragedy & Memorial. All brochures are free.

Ojibwe Journeys: Treaties, Sandy Lake & The Waabanong Run—This book explores key events inthe Ojibwe treaty-making period of the early 1800s and traces the ensuing journey to protectreserved rights from formidable governments and anti-Indian groups. $16.00 each.

Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwa—This book includes a brief description of each plant andits use, reproduced line drawings, and a map showing approximate location of each plant within theceded territories. $20.00 each.

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IntroductionBoozhoo (Hello) and welcome to Ojibwe Treaty Rights: Understand-

ing & Impact. We hope you will enjoy our booklet and begin to learn aboutthe Ojibwe people and their treaties as you read. We will share informationabout treaties and treaty rights and also about the Ojibwe people, their tra-ditions and customs. We will begin with some teachings about the Ojibwecreation and how the new earth was formed following a great flood a long,long time ago.

A youthful Ojibwe dancer uses many items from nature aspart of his traditional dance outfit.

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Ojibwe people set up camp near their sugarbush, or maple tree stand, to gather maple sap in the earlyspring. The sap was boiled down to make maple sugar cakes that were easy to store and transport.Maple sugar is called ziinzibaakwad in the Ojibwe Language.

Sugar camp

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All people, wherever we liveon this earth, have stories aboutwho we are and where we comefrom. We may call this history.When this history goes back tothe beginning of time, we may callthis origin.

American Indians in NorthAmerica have origin legendstelling how the Indians came tobe. Woodland Indian origin leg-ends say that Indian people origi-nated on this continent. Someanthropologists say that Indianpeople migrated over the “landbridge” from Asia. But Indian ori-gin legends disagree. The originlegends say that this land is whereIndian people were created.

There are many different ver-sions of the origin legend. Manyof them are very similar, andmany are almost identical. Someof them are variations of the verysame theme. Each presents anatural order of things. In theOjibwe (Oh-jib-way) language wecall the Creator “Gichi-manidoo”(Giht-chee-mah’-nee-doo) which,when translated, means “TheGreat Spirit.”

It is Gichi-manidoo who creat-ed all things. The sun, moon andstars, the earth, plants and ani-

mals, all were created by Gichi-manidoo.

The Ojibwe or ChippewaIndians in the Lake Superiorregion have an origin legend thattells that they came from the Eastnear the Great Waters (AtlanticOcean). The origin of the earthand the creation of the Anishi-naabe (Ah-nish-shin-nah-bay), or“human beings,” are the handiworkof the creator, Gichi-manidoo, whocreated all things.

The “first world,” however, wasdestroyed by a great flood, andthe second world was created byGichi-manidoo with the help of itsinhabitants. There are also manyversions of how this second lifewas created. One version of thecreation story follows.

Who are the Ojibwe Indians?

A bright floral pattern frequently appears in Ojibwebeadwork.

The OjibweCreation Story

This version of the Ojibwe cre-ation legend is based on teachingsfound in Edward Benton-Banai’s“The Mishomis Book” publishedby Indian Country Communi-cations, Hayward, Wis.

In the beginning of time, theCreator, Gichi-manidoo, createdthe earth, the moon and the sun.The earth (Aki) was called MotherEarth because all living thingscame from her. Gichi-manidoo sentbirds to Mother Earth to carry theseeds of life across the earth in allfour directions. The water crea-tures, insects, plants, crawlingthings and the four-legged animalslived in harmony with each other.

Gichi-manidoo blew foursacred parts of Mother Earth into asacred shell called the MegisShell. When those four parts ofMother Earth were combined, manwas created. Gichi-manidoo thenput man onto the earth. The origi-nal man lived in peace with all liv-ing things. From this first mancame all tribes. All tribes are broth-ers for they are all a part of MotherEarth.

Original man walked the earthand gave names to all of the livingcreatures. He learned the way ofthe seasons and how each season

was important. He learned aboutthe plants and discovered whichones could be eaten or used formedicines. Original man learnedall the wonders and mysteries ofthe earth that had been created byGichi-manidoo.

The earth was filling with peo-ple and for a long while everyonelived in harmony with the earth ashad the original man. However,men began to quarrel amongthemselves. They began fightingfor hunting grounds and begankilling each other.

Gichi-manidoo was very sad-dened to see his people turning tothese ways. He decided the earthhad but one hope, and that was topurify it with a great flood. Most liv-ing creatures died as a result ofthe great flood, but a few wereable to continue swimming to stayalive or fly above the flood.

Original man, who is alsocalled Wenabozho (Wen’-ah-boo’-zhoo), (see explanation ofWenabozho, page 27) was able tosave himself from the flood byfloating on a huge log. Wenabozhotook turns with the swimming andflying creatures for a spot to reston the log. Because of sharing thisway, the creatures Wenabozhohelped were able to keep fromdrowning.

After a long while, Wenabo-zho and the creatures had not yet

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seen any land. So Wenabozhodecided to dive down deep underthe water in search of some earth.He believed he could create a newearth with this piece of land andthe help of Gichi-manidoo.

Wenabozho dove deep into thewater. He was gone a long while.When he finally returned, he hadfailed to bring a piece of land withhim as the water was too deep.Many of the animals on the logalso tried to dive and return with apiece of earth. All were unsuccess-ful.

Finally, the small wazhash(muskrat) offered to try. The otheranimals laughed at him at first.How could such a tiny animal

make it far down in the deepwater? Wenabozho said theyshould let this brave little animal dohis best. After some time, themuskrat was seen floating to thetop of the water. Wenabozhopicked up the tiny, lifeless bodyand saw that clutched in his pawwas a small piece of earth. Theanimals cheered. This small braveanimal had given his life so otherscould live.

Wenabozho took the piece ofearth and placed it on the back of aturtle (mikinaak). At once the windsfrom all four directions began toblow. The piece of earth began togrow bigger and bigger until itformed an island—the new earth.

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The Ojibwe peopleThe Ojibwe people, also known

as Anishinaabeg in the Ojibwe lan-guage or as the Chippewa in theEnglish language, lived in NorthAmerica long before the firstEuropean explorers “discovered”America. In fact early sailors wholanded here thought they had land-ed in India. They called the peoplethat met them “Indians.”

Later travelers realized themistake made by earlier sailors.

Explorers and trappers alsolearned there were many differenttribes on this land. They found outthat each tribe had its own cultureand beliefs. One such tribe isknown today as the Ojibwe orChippewa.

“Chippewa” is an Englishname. The people call themselvesAnishinaabeg, which means origi-nal people. Chippewa and Ojibweare versions of names given themby other tribes. The name mayhave described the puckered style

Many years ago Ojibwe built homes called wiigiwaams (wigwams) by covering a sapling frame withbirch bark.

of moccasin the Ojibwe wore;others think the name may comefrom the Ojibwe word “ozhibiige,”which means to write.

The Ojibwe lived on both sidesof the Great Lakes in what is boththe United States and Canadatoday. Their hunting, fishing andgathering grounds reached fromNiagara Falls, New York, to theGreat Plains area. They were thelargest tribe north of Mexico.

The Ojibwe were traditionalhunters, fishers and gatherers. Theydepended upon all the resources inthe forests and lakes for clothes,food, shelter, and medicine.

They did not live in one placeall year long. They would movefrom area to area as the seasonschanged. However, they wouldreturn to the same campsites eachyear.

They lived in wigwams. Wig-wams are dome-shaped homescovered with birch bark (wiigwaas).Young trees or saplings placed inthe ground make up the frame. Thesaplings are bent towards the cen-ter and tied together.

When the Ojibwe moved, theywould roll up the bark covering forthe wigwams and take them along.The frame would remain in placeand be used again when theyreturned.

In the early spring, they movedto their sugar camps to tap mapletrees. Small families gathered attheir own sugar bush. Here theywould collect the sap from mapletrees. They boiled down the sapabove a fire to make maple cakesand sugar. The sugar and cakeswere stored in birch bark contain-ers called makak (mah-kuk) andused all year long.

In the early spring just afterthe ice “turned over” in the lakes

and rivers, the Ojibwe went to fish-ing spots that teamed with walleyeand other fish. They would spearwalleye at night using torch lightsand set nets to catch fish in therivers and lakes.

In the summer, the Ojibwewould get together in large familygatherings. They picked and driedwild blueberries, strawberries andraspberries as well as other plants.

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Maple sugar cakes—the sweet product ofmaple sap harvest.

They would visit, trade itemsand compete in games such as la-crosse. In the summer they alsoplanned for the upcoming seasons.

During the autumn, the peo-ple prepared for the winter. Theyharvested and processed manoo-min (wild rice). They dried fishand meat, such as venison. Otherplants were also gathered for dry-ing and storing. The Ojibwe usedthese foods and medicines duringthe long, cold winter months.

In the winter, the large tribalgroups would break into smallerfamily groups, also known asbands. Camps were usually setup in wooded areas for protectionfrom the harsh, winter weather.Here families repaired their cloth-ing and personal belongings. Thiswas also an important time to

teach the young. Thechildren listened to manystories and lessons dur-ing the long, wintermonths. It is said thatstories should only betold when snow is on theground.

Family has alwaysbeen very important to theOjibwe. They taughtrespect for elders andgrandparents. Aunts and

uncles sometimes actedas a second set of parents.Cousins were the same as broth-ers and sisters.

Sharing was strongly encour-aged. Sharing showed that youcared for someone and alsoshowed your respect.

Another important part ofOjibwe life and family has alwaysbeen the doodem (clan). Eachchild was born into a clan, usuallythe same clan as the father.

The clan was another family,a special family as important asthe biological one. People of thesame clan were considered broth-ers and sisters. Animals, such asmakwa (bear), giigoo (fish), aji-jaak (crane), waabizheshi(marten), and makinaak (turtle)represent the clans. They are clansymbols.

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Makwa (bear) is a clan symbol. People of the bear clan areconsidered protectors.

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Each clan has a different dutyin the community. Makwa or bearclan people are protectors, forexample. The clan system helpedto decide how people would fit intothe community. It provided a socialstructure. For example, on thebasis of clan, people would be-come chiefs, teachers, warriors,or healers.

Today, many Ojibwe people fol-low the traditional lifeway and cus-toms. Some people continue tocollect medicines and foods fromthe forests. Many traditional craftitems, like birch bark baskets andbeaded clothing, are made thesame way they were made a hun-dred years ago.

The old teachings and valuesare still encouraged. Manypeople continue to followthe traditional beliefs.Families, clans and pre-serving the Ojibwe lan-guage remain importantto Ojibwe people today.

However, there havealso been many changes.Today, the Ojibwe live allover the United Statesand Canada. In the UnitedStates, most of the Ojibwelive in Michigan, Wiscon-

sin and Minnesota. Some of themlive on Indian reservations. Otherslive in cities and towns throughoutthe country.

An Indian reservation is landset aside, or reserved, for Indianpeople. There are 20 Ojibwe reser-vations in the United States. Manyof them are located near wild ricelakes and fishing areas that havealways been important to the sur-vival of the Ojibwe people.

Ojibwe children go to schoolssimilar to non-Indian children.Some attend public schools, andothers may go to a reservationschool. They learn many of thesame subjects that other childrenlearn and do many of the samethings.

Makinaak (turtle) is also a clan symbol representing healers.

Ojibwe children also learnOjibwe language and culture atsome schools they attend. Manytribes also have language and cul-tural classes on-reservation. TheOjibwe tribes believe it is veryimportant to bring back and usetheir native language because thelanguage expresses native knowl-edge and culture.

Adults work in many of thesame types of jobs that non-Indians do. There are Ojibweteachers, doctors, loggers, lawyers,construction workers, and truckdrivers, for example.

While cultural traditions arevery important, Ojibwe and othertribal people are very much a partof our modern world and lifestyle.

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Brian McInnes teaches the Ojibwe language at the Waadookadaading School,an Ojibwe language immersion school in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Over 600 treaties were signedbetween the United States gov-ernment and the different Indiantribes. A treaty is an agreementmade between two or more coun-tries or nations.

Treaties were made during thetime that the United States wasbeing settled. Most treaties weresigned in the early and mid 1800’s.

As more and more Europeansettlers came to America, theycontinued to push westward ontoIndian lands. They wanted the

lands for lumber, mines and farms.The United States govern-

ment recognized Indian tribes asowners of the land, so they heldmeetings with the various tribesbecause they recognized thetribes as sovereign governments.

At the meetings the U.S. gov-ernment asked the tribes to sellparts of their land. They promisedto pay the tribes in money, goodsand services. If the tribes agreed,a treaty was signed stating all thedetails of the agreement.

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History of Ojibwe Treaties

View of the great treaty held at Prairie du Chien, September 1825.(Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society)

The United States stoppedmaking new treaties with Indiantribes in 1867. From 1785 to 1867,the United States signed 42treaties with the Ojibwe nations.Some of these treaties are knownas the 1836 Treaty, the 1837 PineTree Treaty, the 1842 CopperTreaty and the 1854 Treaty.

All of these treaties weresigned between equal nations—tribes and the U.S. government.However, the tribes had to agree tocede, or give up their ownership, tothe land.

At that time Ojibwe leadersworried about losing their sourcesfor food, medicine and clothing.They felt that they would no longerbe able to hunt, fish or gather theplants they needed if they soldtheir land. They saw this as athreat to the survival of the peopleand the future generations.

As a result, in many treatiesthe tribes were careful to keeptheir rights to hunt, fish and gatherplants on the lands they sold to theUnited States. Those rights werenever sold!

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Manoomin (wild rice) is a traditional and culturally-important food for the Ojibwe. It is harvested by gentlyknocking the kernels into the bottom of a canoe using lightweight, cedar rice knockers as pictured above.

Treaty rights areproperty rights

Today “treaty rights” meansthose rights the Ojibwe kept whenthey signed the treaties. They arealso called reserved rights.

The Ojibwe never sold or bar-gained these rights away. They arethe rights to hunt, fish and gatherplant resources, like wild rice, onthe land sold to the United States.

Let’s look at how reservedrights work. For example, your par-ents may have some land theywant to sell. However, they havebeen told there is gold on the land.They don’t want to lose the gold,but they don’t want to keep theland either. So, when they sell theland, they keep (or reserve) themineral rights. They just sell thesurface of the land.

This gives them the right tomine the gold or other under-ground minerals even though thesurface of the land belongs to thenew owners.

Reserved mineral rights andtreaty hunting, fishing and gather-ing rights are a type of propertyright. They are not “special” rightsgiven to Indians, but a propertyright, which is common to allUnited States citizens.

Unfortunately, the reservedtreaty rights of the Ojibwe wereignored for many years. State gov-ernments simply forgot about thetreaty rights of the tribes.

The states made rules andregulations and forced the tribes tofollow those rules with no regard tothe treaty agreements.

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Treaty rights

In December 1998 Tobasonakwut, an Ojibwespiritual leader from Canada, provided a pipeceremony outside the United States SupremeCourt in Washington, D.C. prior to an importanthearing about the 1837 Treaty rights. TheSupreme Court ruled in favor of the Ojibwe onMarch 24, 1999.

In recent years, the tribes havegone into court against states toprove that their treaty rights havealways existed.

Court decisions from theUnited States Supreme Courthave agreed with the tribes thatthey did, indeed, keep hunting,

fishing and gathering rights onlands they sold.

The Supreme Court ruled thatthe tribes should be able to usethose treaty rights as long as thenatural resources are also pre-served and public health andsafety are protected.

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Lands sold in the 1836, 1837, 1842, and 1854 Treaties and the location of eleven Ojibwe tribes withtreaty rights to hunt, fish and gather in ceded territories.

Treaty rights areexercised in theceded territory

To “exercise” a treaty rightmeans that Ojibwe people can gooff their reservations to hunt, fishand gather, and they do theseactivities under tribal, not state,law. This is tribal self-regulation.For example, the treaty deer sea-son is different than the state deerseason because it is under triballaws.

The “ceded territory” meansthe lands sold under the differenttreaties. For the Ojibwe, this is thenorthern third of Michigan, Wiscon-sin and Minnesota. The Ojibwe canonly exercise their treaty rightswithin the ceded territories.

The treaty rights also applyonly to those public lands soldwithin a specific treaty. For exam-ple, the 1837 Treaty refers to landsin the east-central part of Minne-sota and northern Wisconsin. Thismeans that an Ojibwe personhunting under the 1837 Treatycannot use the treaty rights to huntin parts of the state not included inthat treaty. For instance, they can-

not go to northern Minnesota tohunt under 1837 Treaty rightsbecause those lands were not soldunder the 1837 Treaty.

Treaty rights aretribal rights

Ojibwe treaty rights belong tothe tribe, not to individuals.

For example, chiefs represent-ing eight Ojibwe bands in Wiscon-sin and Minnesota signed theTreaty of 1837. In this treaty, theOjibwe kept their hunting, fishingand gathering rights. Only mem-bers of those tribes who signedthe treaty can hunt under the 1837Treaty.

They can only do so undertribal regulations. The Ojibwe bandsregulate treaty hunting, fishing andgathering. So tribal members mustfollow the rules and regulations thatare part of tribal law.

A person must also be anenrolled member of an Ojibweband that signed the treaty. Forenrollment as a tribal member, youmust prove your Indian ancestry,including parents, grandparentsand great-grandparents.

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Each reservation has its ownelected leaders who govern thetribe. The governing board is oftencalled the tribal council. In somecases the council is called a reser-vation business committee, a tribalexecutive council or a tribal gov-erning board. All basically have thesame governing function. Theymake the policies and regulationsfor the tribe.

Today, many tribes have someof the same powers that cities orstates have. Tribal councils canpass laws to regulate tribal mem-bers. They can hire police and set

up courts. They can tax their mem-bers and zone their land. Tribesalso manage tribal businesses andhousing programs. They havehealth and education programs,the same as many cities. Sometribes even issue license plates forthe cars belonging to their mem-bers.

Tribal councils pass the lawsthat regulate treaty hunting, fishingand gathering. Councils sometimeswork with state governments todevelop tribal conservation regula-tions. Some of the tribal conserva-tion laws are the result of federalcourt orders.

Laws, or codes, adopted bytribal councils regulate each of thetribal hunting, fishing and gather-

ing seasons. Thismeans there arelaws for the treatydeer season, bearseason, fishing sea-sons and so on.Many of the huntingand fishing laws arethe same for eachreservation.

Of course, lawsmust be enforced.So the Ojibwe tribeshave conservationwardens and tribalcourts. To regulate

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All deer taken during the tribal, off-reservation season must be taggedand registered.

Treaty rightsregulations

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off-reservation treaty seasons,eleven Ojibwe bands in Minnesota,Wisconsin and Michigan formedthe Great Lakes Indian Fish &Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC).GLIFWC does not assist with regu-lations on-reservation, only in theoff-reservation, ceded areas wheretreaty rights are exercised.

GLIFWC provides fully-trainedwardens and stations them on thedifferent, member reservations.GLIFWC wardens patrol the cededterritory to make sure tribal mem-bers are following the conservationlaws for off-reservation hunting,fishing, trapping, and gatheringseasons.

Some GLIFWC wardens arecross-deputized with Wisconsinstate wardens also. Tribal memberswho are caught violating the lawsare given citations and sent totribal courts.

Reservations also haveregulations for on-reservationhunting, fishing and gatheringseasons. They are different fromthe off-reservation regulations.Tribes hire wardens to enforce theon-reservation laws as well.

For more information on tribalhunting and fishing laws youshould contact the tribal offices inyour area.

GLIFWC wardens practice ice rescue training in Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay.GLIFWC wardens are all trained in ice rescue and stand ready to assist in case of anemergency.

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Tom Houle tends walleye eggs at the Bad River Hatchery. Many tribes operate hatcheries andstock fish in inland lakes as well as Lake Superior.

Tribal hatcheries

Protection of natural resourcesis a goal of every tribe. The tribeshunt and fish mainly for food.Some tribal members fish in LakeSuperior for income. Because theOjibwe have always depended onthe resources, they are concernedabout preserving and protectingthem as well.

Tribes have numerous pro-grams that protect the resources.Many reservations have tribal fishhatcheries. Most of the tribesstock fish back into lakes andstreams. Some of the tribes workwith local lake associations andsport groups to do this.

Tribes also understand theneed to improve and protect wet-lands. They help create and pre-serve feeding grounds for geeseand other birds.

They work with differentgroups to control invasive plantsand animals. Those plants andanimals, known as invasive orexotic species, are not commonto this area. Some of these, suchas the sea lamprey and the pur-ple loosestrife plant, can do muchharm to native wildlife and theirhabitats, or places wherethey live.

GLIFWC and tribal biologistsdo research on different plants,fish and animals. They do countsin order to figure out populationnumbers and study behavior andhabits of different species.

They are also very concernedabout pollution and the destructionof habitat. So, they study waterand air pollution that may harm ourresources and test fish for mercurycontamination.

Some tribes pass laws that willhelp to improve and protect thewater and air quality. They areworking with different agencies of

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Resource protection

The sea lamprey is an invasive fish that has had adeadly impact on lake trout in the Great Lakes. Itattaches to the lake trout with its sucker-like mouth.

(Photo courtesy of Minnesota Sea Grant.)

the United States’ government todo this.

Tribes are concerned aboutprotecting the plants and animalson their reservations and also inoff-reservation, ceded areas wherethey have treaty rights.

All the tribes are involved withprotecting the environment. Astrong part of their traditionalteachings has been to respect

Mother Earth and all formsof life.

Ojibwe people are taught tolook out for the needs and well-being of future generations—all thepeople and life to come.

They feel a need to protectMother Earth for the future of theirchildren and also for their children’schildren for seven generationsto come.

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Ojibwe tribes and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission seek to restore and enhance wild rice in the ceded territories by reseeding rice beds in the fall.

The Great Lakes Indian Fishand Wildlife Commission helps itsmember tribes make sure that theOjibwe people will always be ableto use their treaty rights.

It is an inter-tribal organization,meaning it is made up of many dif-ferent Ojibwe bands, eleven in all.The Great Lakes Indian Fish andWildlife Commission is often

called “GLIFWC (GLIF-WIC)”for short.

GLIFWC helps its mem-bers protect the resources forthe future. Some GLIFWC biol-ogists work on wildlife man-agement, such as deer, fisher,marten, waterfowl and wildplants.

Other GLIFWC biologistswork entirely on the fisheries,both in Lake Superior and ininland lakes. They do assess-ments with electroshockingboats or nets to determine fishnumbers. Electroshockingboats stun fish in shallowwaters for a short period oftime. The fish are lifted into theboat with big nets to be count-ed and measured, then gentlyput back into the water.

Information gathered bybiologists helps them recom-mend regulations for tribalhunting and fishing seasons,such as the numbers of deer

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Great Lakes Indian Fish &Wildlife Commission

Aboard an electrofishing boat, GLIFWC FisheriesTechnician Butch Mieloszyk records information onwalleye captured during spring population assess-ments.

or fish that would be safe totake each year.

GLIFWC biologists alsostudy wild rice, a very impor-tant food for the Ojibwe. Theyhave begun to reseed old wildrice beds that have disap-peared over the years due todevelopment and pollution.

GLIFWC biologists workwith other scientists from thestate, tribal or U.S. govern-ments on many projects. Theyhave found that workingtogether and sharing informa-tion makes resource managementbetter for everyone.

GLIFWC also provides conser-vation wardens to patrol andenforce off-reservation laws andhelps its member tribes maintaintheir tribal courts on reservation.

Through its Public InformationOffice, GLIFWC provides educa-tional materials and information toschools, organizations and tribes.

It is important for people tounderstand tribes and their treatyrights. Printed materials andvideos explain treaty rights and tellhow the tribes manage their treatyrights to protect and preserve thenatural resources.

Other inter-tribal organizationslike GLIFWC help their membertribes exercise treaty rights as well.In Minnesota, the 1854 Authorityrepresents two Ojibwe bands, andin Michigan the Chippewa OttawaResource Authority represents fivetribes with treaty rights.

These organizations help theOjibwe ensure that the resourcesand environment are protected forfuture generations.

They provide a voice for theOjibwe to those federal and stateagencies that also work to protectthe environment and naturalresources.

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GLIFWC biological staff removes a juvenile sturgeonfrom an assessment net.

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Questions and answersWhy did the courts give the Ojibwe huntingand fishing rights?

Hunting and fishing rights were not given to the Ojibwe by the courts,the Department of Natural Resources, or the state or federal government.

The rights to hunt, fish and gather plants were rights the Ojibwealways had as the first owners of the land. They kept these rights for them-selves in treaties when they sold the land.

Aren’t the treaties too old to apply to ustoday?

Indian treaties are contracts signed between the United States govern-ment and the tribes. Time does not change such an agreement. There wasno time limit placed on how long the treaties should last.

The United States strongly recognizes documents much older thanOjibwe treaties, such as the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, forexample.

Can the treaties be changed?Yes. Some treaties were changed when new treaties were signed.

Congress can also abrogate treaties. This means Congress can break orchange a treaty agreement.

However, if they were to abrogate treaties with the Ojibwe, Congresswould also have to provide payment to the tribes for what was lost by theOjibwe.

Why are the Ojibwe allowed to use modernmethods for hunting and fishing?

There is nothing in the treaties that limit the methods used by theOjibwe when hunting or fishing.

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It should be remembered that the treaties were signed between theUnited States and the Ojibwe. The United States wanted the land for itstimber and mineral resources.

If the Ojibwe are to be restricted to the ways of hunting and fishingused at the time of the treaties, shouldn’t the timber companies, miningcompanies and sportsmen also have the same restrictions?

What rights do the tribes have to cutand sell timber?

The federal courts have said that the Ojibwe have no commercialrights to timber resources. They can, however, take wood and other plantsfor personal use.

What happens to Indians who breakconservation laws?

Tribal members who break the tribal hunting and fishing regulationsgo to tribal courts. In the tribal courts they can face up to $5,000 in fines,possible loss of their tribal hunting, fishing and harvesting licenses andloss of gear.

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VocabularyCeded territories This refers to the specific lands or territories

sold in treaties. Treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather can be exercised in the ceded territories under tribal regulation. (see map, page 14)

Habitat The natural environment of an animal or plant.

Invasive, Non-native, or plants or animals from another exotic species place, that take over when they are brought

into a new habitat. They can push out or kill the native plants or animals.

Native wildlife Animals or plants living or growing naturally in a particular region.

Reservation This is land which is owned by specific tribes and is now considered their homeland. This land was often described and reserved in treaties. Many reservations are located near traditional rice lakes or fishing areas.

Sovereign This means independent and self-regulating or ruling oneself. Governments of different countries are sovereign.

Treaty This is a formal agreement between two or more countries or sovereign governments.

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Treaty rights These are rights reserved, not sold, in treaty agreements between nations. They include the Ojibwe reserved rights to hunt, fish and gather on lands sold to the United States in specific treaties.

Tribal council The elected governing body of a tribe is often called the council. Sometimes it is called the reservation business committee.

An Ojibwe hunter takes aim at a deer. Ojibwe hunters use both rifleand bow to hunt, but most rely on rifles.

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Ojibwe stories & legendsWenabozho is an Ojibwe culture hero, teacher and trickster whose

adventures are told in many Ojibwe stories. These stories have beenpassed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. They oftentalk about the very close relationship felt between the Ojibwe people andthe plants and animals who share their world. You will see slightly differentspellings of Wenabozho’s name, such as Wenabojoo, Nanabush orNenabozho, but they all refer to the same person. We hope you enjoy thestories that follow!

Wenabojoo’s islands(Apostle Islands)

As told by Dee Bainbridge, Red Cliff tribal elder

The islands in this area have had many names since they were firstrecorded in the history of this area. Long ago, the Indian people referred tothese islands as Wenabojoo’s Islands because he supposedly createdthem.

Many, many years ago when Wenabojoo was familiar in this part ofthe country, his favorite spot was Lake Superior. In his travels around thebay, he noticed that a Giant Beaver made his home here. Wenabojoodecided to capture this great beaver, and he ventured to build a dam tokeep the beaver in this area of the bay. Long Island still exists as part of

the dam that Wenabojoo built. Heused sticks and rocks and sand,and he built a dam across the bay.He was sure he had succeeded incapturing the beaver in his so-called beaver pond. Poor Wena-bojoo was doomed to be disap-pointed because he had not builthis dam sturdy enough, and theGiant Beaver escaped and swamout into Lake Superior. Wenabojoo

Amik (beaver).

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was so angry that he took the particles that he used to build his dam, andas the beaver swam away he threw handfuls of dirt after the beaver. As faras he could see, he kept throwing things at the beaver, creating an islandwith each handful. That is why, today the Indian people still call LongIsland, what is left of the ancient dam, “Jagawamikong,” meaning “softbeaver dam.”

There is a theory that this could be where the word Chequamegoncomes from. Never-the-less, the Apostle Islands are very famous.Wenabojoo is again credited with creating them.

Present day Apostle Islands. (Map by Jonathan Gilbert, Ph.D.)

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The birch treeAs told by Dee Bainbridge, Red Cliff tribal elder

One day Wenabojoo (Nanabozho) was trying desperately to escapethe awful anger of the thunderbirds. He had killed some baby thunderbirdsand stolen their feathers, for he wanted to make a very powerful arrow.

The birds with their thunderous voices and lightening-bright eyes werechasing him. Wenabojoo ran and ran, trying to find a place safe from theanger of the great birds. Finally, he crawled into a fallen, hollow birch tree.When the thunderbirds reached him, they knew they could not harm him,for the birch tree, which was their child, protected him.

After the thunderbirds left, Wenabojoo promised the birch tree that itsbark would protect whatever it held.

The Ojibwe used birch bark for homes (wigwams), for canoes and to make storage containers.

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Nanabush meets owl and rabbitAs told by Sam Snake, Chief Elijah Yellowhead, Alder York,

David Simcoe and Annie KingCompiled by Emerson Coatsworth and David Coatsworth

In the wintertime Nanabush had to work very hard to stay alive, andthe cold, snowy days were spent in an endless search for food and fuel.But when the seasons changed and the forests came back to life, he wasoften overcome by lazy spells. Late one spring Nanabush had set out on along, tiring journey away from his homeland. Each day it grew sunnier andwarmer, and soon he felt one of his lazy spells coming on.

As he walked, Nanabush began to feel hungry as well. He had beentraveling all morning and his thoughts turned to dinner. He went to astream to spear fish, but to his surprise, he seemed to have found a riverwith no fish in it. The truth was, of course, that the fish were feeling theheat, too, and had swum down to the bottom of the stream where thewater was cooler. Nanabush decided that he would look for berries. But,alas, the berries grew on bushes on the open rocks, and the sun hadcaused them to dry up and wither. They were not fit to eat.

“Dear me,” Nanabush exclaimed. “This is a most difficult place to huntfor food. I suppose I shall have to find a bee’s nest and eat honey.” So say-ing, Nanabush walked back through the woods until he came to a treewhich looked as though it might hold a beehive. He climbed up and lookedinside, but the bees were also feeling the hot weather, and they were rest-ing instead of gathering honey. There was no honey at all in the tree, andwhen the bees discovered that Nanabush was peering down on them, theyrose with angry buzzings and drove him away. He slithered down the treeand ran off into the woods as fast as he could.

Now when he was out of harm’s way, he realized sadly that he washungrier than ever, and that he had still found nothing at all to eat. “I shallhave to play a trick on some of the animals, otherwise I won’t be eating atall today,” he sighed.

So he sat down on a log and worked out a plan. When he was ready,he jumped up and walked through the forest, calling to all the birds andanimals.

“Come my brothers!” he criedin a loud voice. “Come to the middleof the woods for a council withNanabush, I have a new song toteach you.”

Now there were many ani-mals and birds in that part of thewoods and, not suspecting trick-ery, they came as they were bid.Nanabush met them in the middleof the woods.

“Now, brothers, it is importantthat you sit with your backs to mewhile I sing a new song of magic. Itis a wonderful song, and it will dowonders for you when you havelearned it. But you must not watchme while I sing, or else the magicwill not work for you when you singthe song yourselves afterwards.”

The simple creatures did exact-ly as they were told. They sat withtheir backs to Nanabush and lis-

tened carefully while he sang. One reason they obeyed so willingly wasthat owl, whom all the other animals and birds regarded as the wisest ofcreatures, was also sitting with his back to Nanabush. However, owl wasnot always clever, and he looked wise only because his face was set in agrave expression. But owl was very curious too, and although he sat withhis back to Nanabush, he kept moving his eyes from side to side, hopingto catch a glimpse of him as he sang.

Though owl rolled his eyes as far as he could, he could not see whatNanabush was doing. At length his curiosity got the better of him, and heturned his head very, very slightly. His eyes opened wide—and he couldhardly believe what he saw. There was Nanabush picking up rabbit in bothhis hands as if he were going to kill him! Owl let out such a squeal of fearand indignation that all of the other birds and animals ran off in all direc-tions, screaming and howling for all they were worth.

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Gookooko’oo (owl).

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This turn of affairs took Nanabush by surprise, and without thinking heraised his arms and stretched them out as if to catch one of the escapinganimals. He completely forgot he was holding rabbit, and he moved hisarms with such speed and strength that he pulled rabbit out of all propor-tion. Instead of short ears and four short legs, rabbit suddenly found him-self with two long ears and two long hind legs. But the astonished rabbitdid not stop to think about this. He wiggled and wriggled until he had freedhimself and hopped away into the woods, happy to be alive. It is becauseof this, the Ojibwe say, that ever afterwards the rabbit tribe has long ears,long hindlegs, and must jump and hop whenever they wish to move fromone place to another.

Owl was particularly anxious to get away with the other birds andanimals, for he had been the one who had warned them of Nanabush’strickery. But, owl was not that lucky. When rabbit had slithered out ofNanabush’s hands, the trickster made a dive for owl, and when hecaught him, he fixed his eyes so that they could stare only straightahead. “I will teach you to interfere with my plans,” Nanabush told him.“Forever and forever, all owls will have eyes like yours now. They maylook straight ahead, but if they wish to look from side to side, they willhave to turn their whole head.”

When the other animals heard what Nanabush had done to owl, theylaughed and laughed at the poor bird’s plight. Owl felt so foolish that he hiddeep in the woods and only appeared in the evenings when the sun hadgone down. And that is why today owls only come out at night.

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ActivitiesBald Eagle (Migizi) Maze

According to one of the teachings in Edward Benton-Banai’s TheMishomis Book, migizi (eagle) once played an important role in saving theOjibwe people. Gichi-manidoo, the Great Spirit, was angry with the peoplefor using spiritual medicine in an evil way. He was about to destroy theearth when migizi flew high into the heavens, up to Gichi-manidoo and toldhim there were still some good, humble people living in a good way. Migizibegged Gichi-manido not to destroy the earth. Gichi-manidoo held backthe destruction as long as migizi could report each day that at least oneperson still followed the good ways. For this reason, migizi is considered amessenger between the people and Gichi-manidoo.

answer on page 34

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Down1. Stands of maple trees where people collect maple sap.

2. Rights the Ojibwe Indians kept when the treaties were signed.

3. Specific lands or territories sold in treaties.

5. Ojibwe word meaning original people.

6. Land set aside, or reserved, for Indian people.

7. Customs of different groups of people.

10. Traditional houses of the Ojibwe people.

Across4. Agreement between two or more countries or nations.

8. Place where a plant or animal lives.

9. Self-regulating or ruling oneself.

11. Plant or animal not common to an area.

12. Governing board of a tribe.

Fill in the crossword puzzle on page 35 using the clues below.

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answer on inside back cover

Boozhoo (hello)! Here are the names of 15 animals in Ojibwemowin (Ojibwelanguage). The Ojibwe names are in the word maze below. How many can youfind? Minozhitoon! (min-oh-jhee-tune)—Do well!

A P A N I M O O S H J S C S

R J F R Y H Q T E S I B A N

K E I N G G I G O O Z J M L

A B I D I A K A A N I K I M

J Q ‘ J A L A A A M E I K Y

I K A S V M S G J F N H A M

D S M D U O O O I K O S N A

A W A A O O O O J H G E A ‘

M H G B Q P O U A K Z H G I

O U A V N W G X A N U Z N I

O A M Z D T A Q K K T I I N

W M O A Y J A T O V G B I K

C P O W K O L L L A B A ‘ Z

T P ‘ U D W J H S O G A A W

I I W A Z H A S H K Q W M R

1. ajidamoo (uh-ji-dah-moe)—red squirrel2. ajijaak (uh-ji-jaak)—crane3. amik (uh-mik)—beaver4. animoosh (uh-nee-moosh)—dog5. esiban (eh-see-buhn)—raccoon6. gigoo (gee-goo) (g sound as in gun)—fish7. ma’iingan (muh-ing-an)—wolf8. mikinaak (mik-ih-naak)—turtle9. makwa (muck-wah)—bear

10. ogaa (oh-gah)—walleye11. waaboos (wah-booz)—rabbit12. waabizheshi (wah-bi-zhay-she)—marten13. waagosh (wah-goosh)—fox14. wazhashk (wah-juh-shk)—muskrat15. zhigaag (zhee-gog)—skunk

Ojibwe word search

answer on inside back cover

Ojibwe Treaty RightsUnderstanding & Impact

ForewordThis is the fifth edition of Ojibwe Treaty Rights: Understanding &

Impact, a booklet first produced to provide a resource for younger readers. Itis hoped that the publication will introduce the reader to Ojibwe history andculture as well as the modern day exercise of treaty rights and resourcemanagement of the tribes.

The fifth edition is published by the Great Lakes Indian Fish & WildlifeCommission (GLIFWC), which represents eleven Ojibwe bands who holdtreaty hunting, fishing and gathering rights in northern Michigan, Wisconsinand Minnesota. Consequently, the booklet focuses on the activities of theseOjibwe bands.

The first edition was produced through funding from the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, OHDS/Administration for NativeAmericans. Ojibwe words used in the text are based on A Concise Dictionaryof Minnesota Ojibwe, edited by John Nichols and Earl Nyholm.

Credits:Writer, first edition: H. James St. Arnold

Writer/editor, second-fifth edition: Sue EricksonLayout/design: Lynn Plucinski

Photography: GLIFWC staff

For further information contact:Public Information Office (PIO), GLIFWC, P.O. Box 9, Odanah, WI 54861, phone(715) 685-2150 or email pio@glifwc.org. This booklet can be downloaded fromGLIFWC’s website at www.glifwc.org. Copies can also be ordered from PIOfor $2.00 each.

© Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, March 2006. All rights reserved.

Resource MaterialsThe following is a partial list of materials published and/or distributed by GLIFWC’s Public

Information Office. Please contact us by email: pio@glifwc.org; write: GLIFWC, P.O. Box 9, Odanah,WI 54861 or visit our website www.glifwc.org or phone (715) 685-2150.

A Guide to Understanding Ojibwe Treaty Rights—The guide contains the pertinent treaties,discusses the nature of treaty rights, provides historical background on the treaty rights, and detailstribal resource management and GLIFWC activities. © 2006—$3.00 each.

Seasons of the Ojibwe—The 2002 edition details GLIFWC activities and harvest totals for major off-reservation tribal hunting, fishing, and gathering seasons. © 2002

Ganawenimaa nimamainan aki (Respect the Earth)—This publication is a twenty-page environ-mental activity booklet for elementary level youth. It offers basic information about the LakeSuperior watershed, its inhabitants and encourages conservation and respect of the water. © 2006—First one is free, $1.00 each thereafter.Fishery Status Update—As a follow-up to the 1991 Casting Light Upon the Waters report, the JointFishery Steering Committee released this report summarizing findings from the last nine years ofjoint assessment and fishery management activities. These are available at no charge.

Cultural posters—GLIFWC produces a new poster annually. 1st one free, $2.00 each thereafter.

MAZINA’IGAN—A quarterly newspaper emphasizing treaty issues and treaty resource managementactivities. Subscriptions are available at no charge.

Growing up Ojibwe—This 20 page supplement to the Mazina’igan is written for elementary studentsand contains activities. 1-5 copies free; 6 or more 25¢ each thereafter.Iskigamizigan (Sugarbush): A Sequel to Growing up Ojibwe—This 12 page supplement takes youthrough the various steps involved in gathering and processing maple sap. 1-5 copies free; 6 ormore 20¢ each thereafter.

Brochures—Ojibwe Treaty Rights & Resource Management; Wild Rice • Ecology–Harvest–Manage-ment; Lake Superior Indian Fishery; Enforcement of Off-Reservation Treaty Season; Tribal FishHatchery Production; Sandy Lake Tragedy & Memorial. All brochures are free.

Ojibwe Journeys: Treaties, Sandy Lake & The Waabanong Run—This book explores key events inthe Ojibwe treaty-making period of the early 1800s and traces the ensuing journey to protectreserved rights from formidable governments and anti-Indian groups. $16.00 each.

Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwa—This book includes a brief description of each plant andits use, reproduced line drawings, and a map showing approximate location of each plant within theceded territories. $20.00 each.