This site is dedicated in memory of: Dan Sargent,
You have discovered an ongoing effort to document the history of the Ojibwe, Chippewa, Saulteaux, Mississauga, Nipissing, and related communities.
What can the cumulative documentary life of an ethnonym reveal that individual artifacts cannot?
This project invites readers to explore that question by following the historical documentary footprint of the Ojibwe/Chippewa nation through the published record. Rather than focusing on a single aspect of history, it follows the evidence wherever it leads—through newspapers, books, government publications, maps, military records, oral histories, transportation, commerce, public place names, and countless other historical sources. Considered together, these records reveal a broader understanding of the nation's historical presence than any individual source could provide.
The nation's historical footprint has been, and continues to be, documented in many ways. It is preserved on the landscape through rivers, lakes, roads, counties, townships, parks, and communities. It appears in newspapers, books, photographs, maps, government publications, and military records. It is reflected in commerce through corporations, transportation, banking, products, advertisements, trademarks, and stock certificates. The ethnonyms Chippewa, Ojibwe, and related names also became part of everyday public life through schools, businesses, recreation, monuments, civic institutions, and countless other aspects of North American society.
"What is missing?"
The search for that answer led to centuries of history, thousands of records, and discoveries ranging from military service and historical events to monuments, place names, photographs, forgotten newspaper accounts, commercial artifacts, and countless other pieces of the historical record. Many of these sources were scattered among archives, local histories, community memorials, libraries, museums, private collections, and newspapers, rarely viewed together.
This website is organized by forms of historical evidence rather than by a single narrative. Each section documents a different aspect of the Otchipwé nation's historical footprint. Individually, these records tell many separate stories. Collectively, they reveal patterns of historical recognition, acknowledgment, and inclusion that no single artifact or category could demonstrate alone.
The work continues. New information is added as it is discovered, and there is little doubt that more remains to be found.
If you discover something here that you did not know before, then this effort has achieved its purpose.
Mission Statement
Otchipwé: Chippewa–Ojibwe History is an educational resource dedicated to documenting the history of the Otchipwé Nation throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. The site presents this history as a shared cross-border story that long predates the modern boundaries of Canada and the United States.
Its purpose is to document the nation's historical acknowledgment as preserved in the documentary, commercial, governmental, and public record. Every map, newspaper, government publication, military record, business, commercial product, public institution, place name, and historical image represents a separate act of acknowledgment recorded under the ethnonym used at that time.
Historical events are presented through the documentary record as they unfolded. Where different spellings, interpretations, or perspectives exist, they are presented in context rather than altered or standardized. Historical ethnonyms—including Otchipwé, Chippewa, Chippeway, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Saulteur, Saulteaux, Mississauga, Nipissing, and others—are preserved as they appear in the original sources. Variations reflect differences in language, dialect, orthography, geography, and historical period.
Beyond documenting historical events, this project seeks to preserve the nation's historical footprint through four complementary forms of evidence:
These forms of evidence frequently overlap. A single subject may represent more than one historical footprint. Together they reveal a broader understanding of the nation's historical presence, public recognition, and documentary record than any single category of evidence could provide.
In recognition that some communities use the term Ojibwe while others prefer Chippewa, this site uses both interchangeably, reflecting the inclusive history of the nation's name since the written record began. Historical spellings found in primary and secondary sources are retained as originally written. Variations in spelling reflect differences in time, language, dialect, orthography, and source material.
The replacement of a historically documented ethnonym by a preferred modern ethnonym can have the unintended—or, in some cases, deliberate—effect of erasing the historical visibility of the name and the documentary record associated with it. To do so obliterates from the resulting historical narrative the historic acknowledgment, recognition, and inclusion of the nation under the ethnonym by which it was documented. No attempt has been made to standardize historical spellings except to correct obvious transcription errors.
1845 A-wun-ne-wa-be, Bird of Thunder, Chippewa warrior, by Catlin, painted at the request of Louis Phillippe I, King of France.
Smithsonian. wikicommons
Page links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8 can be clicked at both the top and very bottom of each page
IF ANY FOOTNOTES DO NOT WORK GO TO : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mcb133aco/sandbox2
Be-sheekee / Buffalo by Francis Vincenti in U.S. Senate wing. The U.S. House has a bronze copy. He was a Leech-Lake Pillager war Chief that offered Gov. Ramsey to fight the Sioux Sept. 15, 1862.[1]
wikicommons
The Ojibwa people are the only tribe to have their leaders acknowledged in the U.S.Capitol with busts. There are three, one by the U.S.Senate and two by the U.S. House of Representitives.
The turtle, or Grandmother Earth or Nookomis-aki, represents wisdom, healing, health and protection.
1779 – Major Arent Schuyler De Peyster while stationed at Fort Michilimackinac described the use of wampum belts and strings in Native diplomacy, explaining that they were "what the Indians hold talks upon." He further noted that white wampum signified peace, while blue wampum incorporating the image of a tomahawk signified war. The observation provides a contemporary British description of the role of wampum in communication and intertribal relations.
Clearing the sky: Mississauga Wampum Alan Corbiere
https://mncfn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Alan-Corbiere-February-22-2019.pdf
Alan Corbiere
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Their_Own_Forms_Most_Notice.pdf
©Royal Ontario Museum
Traditional heraldic symbolism gives:
Tincture: Sable (Black) represents
Constancy, prudence, wisdom,
sometimes grief or steadfastness
Tincture: Argent (Silver/White) represents:
Peace, sincerity, purity,truth
Tincture: Gules (Red) represents
Military strength, courage, magnanimity,
martyrdom
The eagle charge represents:
Sovereignty, Authority, Courage, Dominion , Victory
The owl is less common in heraldry represents:
Vigilance, Wisdom, Prudence
The rock charge represents:
Constancy, Firmness, Stability, Endurance, Strength,
Permanence
"Cinq études d'indiens Ojibwas Louvre Arts Graphiques"
Among the most unexpected artistic records of the Ojibwe are five studies executed in Paris in 1845 by Eugène Delacroix. Today preserved in the Louvre Museum, they provide an extraordinary example of the Otchipwé nation's presence within one of the world's foremost art collections.
©Louvre
©Amon Carter
Nogeeshik (Nogeeshik Aquash), Walpole Island First Nation, Ontario, 1972. Widely regarded as one of America's most celebrated realist painters, Andrew Wyeth did multiple studies and paintings using Nogeeshik Aquash as a subject. In 1973 Noggshick took part in the Wounded Knee Occupation with AIM.
©Smithsonian
The extent of the Potawatomi and Salteaux lands is not depicted. The Salteaux borders may not be known well enough to approximate. wikicommons
Ontonagon Copper Boulder ("Misko-biiwaabik"). This remarkable native copper boulder, long associated with Ojibwa tradition as a gift from Gitchee Manitou, is preserved today by the Smithsonian Institution.[29]. Historic accounts record that Ojibwa people carried carefully wrapped copper nuggets in their medicine bags, polishing them with sand to restore their brilliant luster.[30] The Ojibwa place name Ontonagon has itself left a lasting public footprint, surviving in the names of the Ontonagon River, Ontonagon County, Ontonagon Township, the Village of Ontonagon, the Ontonagon Band (Tribe), and the USS Ontonagon (AOG-36), illustrating how a single Ojibwa place name became embedded in the geography, institutions, and military history of Michigan and the United States.
Smithsonian wikicommons
Wisconsin Historical Society wikicommons
Milwaukee Public Museum wikicommons
The Otchipwé, Chippewa or Ojibwe are the largest Indigenous nations in North America. They are part of the Anishinaabe people and are closely related to the Odawa (Ottawa) and Potawatomi nations. Together these three nations form the Council of Three Fires, a political, cultural, and spiritual alliance that has existed for centuries.
According to Anishinaabe oral tradition, the people originated near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and gradually migrated westward. These traditions describe an ancient center at Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior associated with Mudjekeewis, remembered as a Chief of the Spirit Keepers. Some researchers have suggested possible cultural connections between the ancestors of the Ojibwe and the Old Copper Culture or Laurel Complex of the Great Lakes region. Such interpretations remain matters of archaeological theory rather than oral tradition.
Within the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe are traditionally regarded as the "Keepers of Tradition," responsible for medicine, spiritual teachings, and the Midewiwin Lodge. The Odawa are known as the "Keepers of Trade," while the Potawatomi are remembered as the "Keepers of the Fire." These roles reflect cultural and spiritual relationships within the alliance rather than political authority. During the nineteenth century all three nations experienced significant displacement through treaty processes and removal policies, including relocations to Kansas and Indian Territory.
The Ojibwe traditionally recognize seven principal clans (doodem): Crane, Loon, Bear, Fish, Marten, Deer, and Bird. Clan identity played an important role in governance, kinship, and social organization.
The earliest known references to the Ojibwe appear in French records of the seventeenth century. The Jesuit Relations recorded the Banouichitigouin in 1640 and referred to the people living at Baawitigong (Sault Ste. Marie) as the Baouichtigouin. During the same period the Mississauga were recorded as the Oumisagai, while the Nipissing appeared as the Outiskouagami.
An article published in the Indian Advocate in 1907, citing the Bureau of American Ethnology, identified the Banouichitigouin as one of the earliest recorded references to the tribe. The article also asserted that the people had occupied the north shore of Lake Superior since "time immemorial." The pictographs, petroglyphs, and petroforms of the region continue to be studied for evidence of long-term cultural continuity.
The people known today as the Ojibwe, Chippewa, and Anishinaabe have a long and diverse history of names and spellings. One influential nineteenth-century form, Otchipwe, appeared on the cover of Father Frederic Baraga's dictionaries and grammars. Ojibwe is generally regarded as a francized form of Otchipwe while Chippewa is the anglicized form. Both are in use by many communities in both Canada and the United States.
The historical documentary record does not preserve a single name for the Ojibwe people. Instead, it records dozens of ethnonyms, spellings, autonyms, exonyms, and linguistic variants documented over more than three centuries by Indigenous nations, explorers, missionaries, traders, mapmakers, military officers, government officials, and linguists. Because no standardized written form existed during much of this period, those who recorded these names generally wrote what they heard. The result is an extraordinary documentary record that preserves the historical diversity of the ethnonyms rather than a single standardized form.
The following table has been extracted from Frederick Webb Hodge's Handbook of Indians of Canada (1913). It preserves the historical names and spellings found throughout the documentary record and illustrates the remarkable variety by which the Ojibwe people were identified over time. During the twentieth century, standardization in government, education, publishing, and linguistics increasingly favored a small number of preferred spellings. While this brought consistency to modern usage, it also obscured many of the historical forms found in earlier documents. Hodge's compilation remains one of the most comprehensive records preserving that documentary diversity.
Modern publications generally prefer the ethnonym Ojibwe when referring to the people throughout their history. The historic journalistic record, however, reflects a different chronology. The earliest references to the peoples now recognized as the Ojibwe family appear under a variety of names, including Nipissing, Baouichtigouin, Mississauga, Saulteur, and numerous Chippewa-related spellings. Ojibwe and related forms appear later as the documentary record continues to develop. This handbook presents the ethnonyms chronologically as they were recorded, allowing readers to follow the development of the documentary record over more than three centuries.
NAME YEAR USED BY
Achipoes 1671 Perrot Achipoue 1885 Neill
Algonquin 1790 Mackenzie*
Anchipawah 1816 Boudinot
An-ish-in-aub-ag 1885 Warren
Atci'pwia late 19th c Jacob P. Dunn*
Anichinabe ca. 1895 Holy Childhood Indian School primer, Harbor . Springs, Michigan*
Au-Chipaway 1804–5 Lewis & Clark Estimate of the Eastern Indians*
A-wish-in-aub-ay 1885 Warren
Axshissaye-runu 1881 Gatschet (Wyandot exonym)
Cabellos realzados 1882 Don Diego de Peñalosa
Cheveux-relevés 1882 Shea (French ethnonym, Hodge = Otchipwe)
Chebois 1807 Patrick Gass
Chepawas 1748 Conrad Weiser
Chepewas 1759 George Croghan
Chepeways 1760 George Croghan
Chepowas 1759 George Croghan
Cheppewa 1804 Lewis & Clark*
Cheppewes 1755 Gov. William Shirley
Chiappawaws 1757 Earl of Loudoun
Chibois 1760 Henry Bouquet
Chipawas 1748 Conrad Weiser*
Chipapawwas 1808 Earl of Loudon*
Chipawawas 1766 Goldthwait
Chipaways 1760 George Croghan
Chipawees 1756 anonymous colonial writer*
Chipaweighs 1770 German Flats Conference
Chipewas 1758 De Lattre
Chipéway 1778 Carver*
Chipéways 1778 Carver*
Chipiwa 1820 U.S. Treaty
Chipoes 1671 Perrot
Chipoës 1671 Perrot*
Chippawas 1759 George Croghan
Chippawees 1756 Anonymous colonial writer*
Chippeouays 1912 Hodge
Chippequays 1839 Toussaint map
Chippewaes 1763 Sir William Johnson
Chippeweigh 1763 Sir William Johnson *
Chippeweighs 1767 Sir William Johnson *
Chipeweghs 1763 Sir William Johnson
Chipeweigh 1764 Sir William Johnson*
Chippewa 1780 Deed from the Chippewa Nation, Detroit *
Chippewais ca.1721 Perrot
Chippewas 1754 George Washington
Chiappawaws 1757 Earl of Loudoun
Chippewah 1830s Charles Bird King*
Chippewäh 1868-71 Adolf Bastian (german)*
Chippewaus 1788 Edwards
Chippeway 1791 Long*
Chippeways 1736 Chauvignerie
Chippeweighs 1767 Sir William Johnson
Chippewn (plural) 1907 The Indian Advocate, Sacred Heart, Oklahoma*
Chippewyse 1755 Fort Johnson Conference
Chippiwas 1794 Anthony Wayne's War Department*
Chippiway 1871 Rev. Ernst G. Meissler*
Chippiways 1895 Greenville Treaty*
Chippoways 1754 George Washington
Chippwas 1748 Conrad Weiser *
Chippuwas 1798 Heckewelder
Chipwaes 1748 Conrad Weiser
Chipwas 1748 Conrad Weiser
Chipways 1765 George Croghan
Chipaweighs 1768 German Flats Conference
Cypowais 1828 Beltrami*
Cypoways 1828 Beltrami
Djibway Nation 1877 Rhode Island Historical Society*
DJIBWAYS 1877 Saugeen correspondence Rhode Island . Historical Society*
Djibwe 1935 Skinner, self-identification recorded at Parry Island*
De-wa-ka-nha (Mohawk exonym)
Dewoganna's 1698 Bellomont (Mohawk exonym)
Douaganhas 1687 Cortlandt (Mohawk exonym)
Douwaganhas 1687 Cortlandt (Mohawk exonym)
Dovaganhaes 1691 Livingston (Mohawk exonym)
Dowaganahs 1700 Colonial document (Mohawk exonym)
Dowaganhas 1687 Cortlandt (Mohawk exonym)
Dowanganhaes 1691 Colonial document (Mohawk exonym)
Dshipowehaga 1882 (Caughnawaga exonym)
Dshipowē-hága 1882 Gatschet (Caughnawaga exonym)
Dwē-kē-nen (Onondaga exonym)
Dwakē-nha 1880 (Seneca & Onondaga exonym) Echeepoes 1726 HBC journals, Fort Albany Recorded exonym*
Etchipoes 1671 Prise de Possession
Gibbaways 1797 Imlay
Hahatona 1847 Featherstonhaugh (Sioux exonym)
Hanatonwan 1884 (Sioux exonym)
Hahatonwan 1852 Riggs (Sioux exonym)
Hahatwawne 1932 Smith (Sioux exonym)*
Hahatonway 1877 Matthews (Sioux exonym)
Ha-hot-tang 1823 Long (Hidatsa exonym)
Ha-ha-tu-a 1877 Matthews (Hidatsa exonym)
Ha-ha-twawns 1858 Neill
Hah-hah-ton-wah 1867 Gale
Hrah-hrah-twaunsca 1852 Ramsey
Icbewas 1816 Boudinot (misprint)
Jibwa 1855 Schoolcraft reports Mackenzie use 1801*
Jibway 1885 George W. Park*
Jibewas 1757 Smith
Jibbeways 1764 Captain John Montresor*
Jibboway 1782-5 Hamilton
チッパワ 2017 Hiroshi Nishine (katakana for Chippawa)
Khahkhahtons 1830 Fort Snelling (Sioux exonym)
Khahkhahtons 1830 Fort Snelling (Sioux exonym)
Khakhatons 1830 Fort Snelling
Khakhatonwan 1884 Williamson
Kutaki 1882 (Fox exonym)
Leapers 1698 Hennepin (incorrect translation)
Né-a-ya-og 1862 Cree name
Ne-gátce 1886 (Winnebago exonym)
Ninniwas 1836 Rafinesque
Nwa-ka 1880 (Tuscarora exonym)
Oachiapoia 1720s–1730s HBC journals, Fort Albany Recorded exonym*
Objibways 1883 Kingsley
Ochipawa 1790 Umfreville
Ochipewa 1851 Richardson
Ochipway 1767 Sir William Johnson *
Ouchipöe 1697 La Chesnaye*
Ochipoy 1700 York
Ochippewais 1873 Foster
Ochippeways before 1816 HBC Brandon House Recorded exonym*
Ocipwe-wa Sauk exonym*
Očipwē 1898 William H. Chamberlain*
Ocipwe 1973 Mary B. Black*
Očipwe 1978 Ives Goddard *
Odjibwe 1883 Jean B. Bottineau *
Odshibwe 1883-5 Albert Gatschet *
Otchipoeses 1682 La Salle
Ocipwêw 1830 Cree (exonym)
Odchipewa 1770 Hutchins
Odgiboweke 1864 Perrot
Odgjiboweke 1864 Perrot,
Od-ji-be-wais 1845 Eugene Delacroix
Odjibewais 1864 Perrot
Od-jib-wag 1885 Schoolcraft
Ojibois 1812 Henry
O-jib-ue 1835 American Board of Commissioners for . Foreign Missions*
O-Jib-Ue 1835 James*
Ojibue 1873 American Bible Society (historic endonym)*
O-jib-wa 1915 Wilfred “Doc” Shafe
Ojibwa 1910 Hodge (not listed)*
Ojibwa 1835 Daily National Intelligencer Washington DC,
Ojibwaas 2026 Jud Hartmann Gallery*
Ojibwan 1851 U. Adler (German)*
Ojibwe 1910 Hodge (not listed)*
Ojibwe 1851 Daily National Intelligencer Washington City DC
Ojibwy 1851 U. Adler (German)*
Odjibwas 1851 Schoolcraft
Odjibwe 1884 Kelton
Odjibwekca 1850 Belcourt
Odjibwek 1872 Belcourt
Ogibois 1849 McLean
O-jebway 1861 Peter Jones
O-Je-Bway 1855 Peter Jones
Ojeebois 1812 Henry
Ojibaway 1806 Lewis & Clark
Ojibbewaig 1830 Tanner (Ottawa exonym)
Ojibbeway 1842 Catlin*
Ojibbeways 1830 Tanner
Ojibboai 1821 Hoffman
Ojibua 1843 Maximilian
Ojibwa 1835 Daily National Intelligencer
Ojibwas 1838 U.S. Indian Affairs
O-jib-wage 1871 Morgan
Ojibwaig 1846 Hale
O-jib-wa-uk' 1871 Morgan Indian Affairs
Ojibway 1910 Hodge (not listed)*
Ojibway 1818 Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Ojibwaye 1866 J. George Hodgins*
Ojibways 1843 American Pioneer
Ojibway-ugs 1873 Foster
Ojibw'e 1861 Burton
Ontehibouse 1849 Raymbaut (misprint noted)
Oojibaways 1797–8 David Thompson, published 1849
Oochepoys 1797–8 David Thompson published 1849
Oshibwekca 1850 Belcourt (misprint)
Otchepdse 1682 Procès-verbal
Otchipoises 1848 LaSalle
Otchipose 1848 LaSalle*
Otchipois 1848 LaSalle*
Otchipwe 1837 Baraga
Otjibwek 1864 Perrot
OtIcbewas 1816 Boudinot (misprint)
Ottapoas 1824 Buchana
Oucahipoues 1703 La Hontan
Ouchibois 1761 Anonymous writer
Ouchipöe 1697 La Chesnay
Ouchipawah 1806 Lt. Pike (Schoolcraft)*
Ouchipoves 1741 Coxe map
Outachepas 1821 McKenney & Hall
Outchibouec 1667 Cross-reference to Chippewa
Outchibous 1670 Jesuit Relations *
Outchipoue 1669 René Bréhant de Galinée
Outehipoues 1703 Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce
Qa-qa-'ton-wan 1886 Dorsey (Sioux exonym)
Ra-ra-to-oans 1852/1885 Warren (Sioux exonym)
Ra-ra-t'wans 1850 Ramsey (Sioux exonym)
Regači 1886 St. Cyr (Winnebago exonym . Ne-gátc-hi-ján plural)
Tcipu' 1882 Dorsey (Kansa exonym)
Tchipwia 1879–1880 Albert S. Gatschet Maimi exonym
Tsipu (Kansas & Osage exonym)
Tschipeway 1839 Wrangell
Tschippiweer 1805 Walch (Germanic )
Twa'ka-nha' 1884 Smith (Cayuga & Oneida exonym)
Tsipu' 1883 Dorsey (Osage exonym)
Uchepowuck 1749 James Isham*
Uchipweys 1784 Dalton
Utcheepeeweear 1839 Charles C. Trowbridge Miami exonym*
Wah-kah-towah 1830 Tanner Assiniboine exonym
8itchip8eia 1700 Jacques Gravier, Illinois-French Dictionary . Miami exonym*
8tchip8eia 1725 Le Boullenger, Illinois-French Dictionary . Miani exonym*
Anishinabewok 1885 Toronto Daily Mail reprinted The Morning Star, . Carlisle (self name at Sault Ste. Marie)
Banouichitigouin 1640 Jesuit Relations
Bawichtigouek 1640 Jesuit Relations
Bawichtigouin 1640 Jesuit Relations
Bedzaqetcha 1869 Petitot (Tsattine exonym) "Long Ears"Saulteaux
Bedzietcho 1869 Petitot (Hare/Kawchodinne exonym)Saulteaux
Bungee 1749 York Factory, HBC
Bungees 1815 Sturgeon River Fort HBC*
Bungi Red River HBC*
Bungie Hudson's Bay Company*
Bungay 1799 Fidler HBC*
Bangay Hudson's Bay Company*
Estiaghes 1726 Albany Conference (Iroquois exonym)
Estiaghicks 1727 Colden (Iroquois exonym for Baawitigong*
Jumpers 1858 Neill (incorrect translation of Saulteurs)
Nakawawuck Indians 1743 James Isham, HBC, Fort Albany
. Saulteaux/Chippewa; status: exonym?
Nation du Sault 1642 Jogues & Raymbaut
Ostiagaghroones 1759 Canajoharie Conference (Iroquois exonym)
Pahouitinognach 1670 Jesuit Relations (autonym)*
Pahouitingonack 1690s Perrot (autonym)*
Pauotigoueieuhak Huron = "Dwellers at the Falls"*
Pahouitingouachirini Huron = "Men of the Shallow Cataract"*
Paouichtigouin 1640
Pauoitigoueieuhak 1643 *
Paouitagoung 1648 *
PawatingPaoultagoung Cross-ref to Chippewa "people at the Falls"
PawatingPaouitigoueieuhak 1647–48 Jesuit Relations PawatingPaouitingouach-irini 1669–70 Jesuit Relations (autonym)
Pungee / Pungees 1782 York Factory*
Estjage 1701 Livingston (Iroquois exonym)
Sáhea'eo'o (Cheyenne exonym)*
Salteur 1753 Bacqueville de la Potherie
Santeaux 1817 Brown (misprint)
Santena 1868 Gunn (misprint)
Santeurs 1744 Dobbs (misprint)
Saulteurs 1670 Jesuit Relations
Saulteuseca. 1850 Belcourt
Saulteux 1669 Gallinée
Sault Indians 1710 Vaudreuil
Sauteus 1831 Cox
Sauters 1812 Schermerhorn
Sauteurs 1667 Jesuit Relations
Sauteus 1831 Cox
Sauteux 1719 Vaudreuil
Sautor 1778 Carver*
Sautous 1836 King
Sautoux 1836 King
Schipuwe 1798 Heckewelder (Germanic)
Shepawees 1749 Lindesay
Shepewasca 1765 Bradstreet
Shepuway 1798 Heckewelder (Germanic)
Sothuze 1783 Dalton
Sotoes 1831 Cox
Sotoos 1824 Franklin
Sotto 1859 Kane
Sotu [Saulteur] 1779 Spanish report on tribes of Upper Louisiana*
Soulteaux 1812 Henry
Souteus 1736 La Chauvignerie (Schoolcraft)*
Souties 1843 American Pioneer
Stiaggeghroano 1758 Post Wendat exonym for Baawitigong
Stiagigroone 1700 Livingston Wendat exonym for Baawitigong
Awechisae'eonnons (Mohawk exonym)*
Aoechisaeronon (Mohawk exonym)*
Messessaques 1764 Johnson*
Messasagues 1792-1809 Collections of the Mass. Historical Society*
Messissaugas 1792-1809 Collections of the Mass. Historical Society*
Michisaguek Heritage Mississauga *
Missisages 1741 Coxe, Carolana map
Missisagues 1703 Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce, Baron de Lahontan
Missisague 1670 Jesuit Relations
Missisaguez 1753 Claude-Charles Le Roy, Bacqueville de la Potherie
Missisaguys 1761 Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, Voyages
Missisakis 1753 Bacqueville de la Potherie
Mississaga 1755 Fort Johnson Conference
Mississagua Heritage* Mississauga*
Mississaugua Heritage* Mississauga*
Minzazahgeeg Heritage* Mississauga*
Messassagas Heritage Mississauga*
Mississaugi Heritage Mississauga*
Massesagues Heritage* Mississauga*
Mississagies 1855 Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes
Mississaguas Official Canadian Indian Affairs
Mississaugas 1861 Peter Jones
Mississaugues 1736 Chauvignerie
Mississaugers 1829 Macauley
Mississaugies 1878 Keane
Missitagues 1703 Lahontan
Mussisakies 1854 McKenney & Hall
Oumisagai 1640 Jesuit Relations
Biserenis 1632 Champlain*
Bisserains ca. 1624 Champlain*
Bisseriniens. 1636 Sagard*
Bissiriniens. 1635 Jesuit Relations*
Byssiriniens. 1744 Charlevoix*
Ebicerinys 1636 Sagard*
Epicerinyens 1636 Sagard*
Epesengles 1854 McKenney and Hall*
Epicerinyens 1636 Sagard *
Epiciriniens 1636 Sagard*
Episingles 1753 Dumont*
Juskwaugume 1861 Rev. Jones
Ilgonquines 1682 La Salle*
Longs Cheveux 1671 Jesuit Relations*
Nebicerini 1613 Champlain*
Neperinks 1745 Clinton*
Nepesangs 1810 Lt. Pike*
Nepesinks 1745 Clinton*
Nepessins 1824 Buchanan*
Nepicerinis 1703 Lahontan*
Nepicinquis 1736 La Chauvignerie*
Nepicirenians 1807 Heriot*
Nepiciriniens 1753 Bacqueville de la Potherie*
Nepisin 1744 Dobbs*
Nepisingue 1717 (on a drawing)*
Nepisinguis 1801 Mackenzie*
Nepiscenicens 1816 Boudinot*
Nepiseriniens 1682 La Barre*
Nepisirini 1703 Lahontan*
Nepissens 1816 Bondinot*
Nepisseniniens. 1695 New York Colonial Documents*
Nepissiriens 1681 Du Chesneau
Népissiniens 1855 New York Colonial Documents*
Nepissiriniens 1693 New York Colonial Documents
Nepissings 1695 New York Colonial Documents*
Nepissiriniens 1693 New York Colonial Documents*
Nepisseriniens 1697 New York Colonial Documents*
Nibissiriniens 1883 Parkman
Nipeceriniens 1727 Colden
Nipercineans 1851 Schoolcraft
Nipicirinien 1639 Jesuit Relations
Nipisierinij 1615 Samuel de Champlain
Nipisings 1831 Cox
Nipisingues 1809 Henry
Nipisinks 1770 German Flats Conference
Nipisiriniens 1636 Jesuit Relations
Nipissiriniens 1641 Jesuit Relations*
Nipissings 1741 New York Colonial Documents
Nipissingues 1679 Du Chesneau
Nipissins 1766 Smith Bouquet's Expedition
Nipissirinioek 1871 Trumbull
Nipistingues 1838 Frontenac
Nippisinik 1779 DePeyster*
Nippsingues 1682 Frontenac*
Nipsang 1792 Lear
Nypissings 1686 Lamberville
Nypsins 1824 Long
Odishk-wa-gami 1871 Baraga (Chippewa exonym)
Odishkwa-Gamig 1872 Trumbull (Chippewa exonym)*
O-dish-quag-um-eeg 1852 Schoolcraft
O-dish-quag-um-ees 1850 Ramsey
Odishquahgumme 1874 Wilson
Otick-waga-mi 1882 Cuoq
Outiskoüagami 1671 Jesuit Relations*
Outisquagamis 1671 André
Pisierinii 1616 Champlain
Pisirinins 1616 Champlain
Skekwanen-hronon 1883 Cuoq Huron/Wendat name
Skighquan 1701 Livingston
Tuskwawgomeeg 1830 Tanner (Ottawa exonym)
Nipissing
The following names are Iroquoian exonyms for the Nipissing. Historical sources explain that these names reflect Iroquoian associations of the Nipissing with Midewiwin practices, and were commonly translated by the French as "Nation des Sorciers" or "Nation of Sorcerers".
Askicȣaneronons 1639 Jesuit Relations
Askikȣanehronons 1641 Jesuit Relations
Askikouaneronons 1641 Jesuit Relations
Aweatsiwaenrrhonon 1897 Thweaites ed. Jesuit Relations, Thwaites
Kekerannon-rounons 1686 Lamberville
Nation des Sorciers 1632 Jesuit Relations
Quiennontateronons 1636 Sagard Huron/Wendat exonym
Skaghnanes 1763 New York Colonial Documents*
Skaghquanoghronos 1763 Johnson
Skecaneronons 1636 Sagard Huron/Wendat exonym
Skekaneronons 1636 Sagard Huron/Wendat exonym
Skekwanen-hronon 1883 Cuoq, (Mohawk exonym).
Skequaneronon 1632 Sagard
Skighquan 1701 Livingston (1701)
Sorcerers 1896 Maclean, (English version of Nation des Sorciers)
Squekaneronons 1636 Sagard (Huron exonym).
This website documents the historical recognition of the Nation through the ethnonyms listed in its documented footprint. It is not a history of any one ethnonym presented as the principal identifier to which all others are subordinated. Instead, each reference is presented as it appears in the historical sources, preserving the historical record of how the Nation was recognized over time without privileging one documentary tradition over another.
The ethnonyms in this list are presented in the historical forms in which they are encountered in the documentary record. Three dictionaries on the internet give earlier dates for what they claim to be the earliest recorded use of “Ojibwe”: Dictionary.com — 1665–1675; Collins English Dictionary — 1690–1700; and Merriam-Webster — circa 1700. These dates are earlier than the historical forms documented in this list. The dictionary claims are included here because the apparent gap between their stated dates and the forms found in the historical record warrants disclosure. We welcome and solicit any historical records that may have been missed.
Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Obahbahmwawagezhegoqua, Grand daughter of Chief Waubojeeg I. wikicommons
NOTE: In 1899, Edward Everett Hale tested thirty Massachusetts Indian words with a Chippewa boy at the Hampton School. The boy immediately recognized 15 and, with a little study, worked out almost all of the remainder. Hale included the observation in his discussion of the Natick Dictionary and the relationship among the Algonquin languages.
The earliest documentary references to the peoples now recognized as the Ojibwe family appear in seventeenth-century French records. Among the earliest are the Nipissing recorded by Samuel de Champlain beginning in 1615, the Baouichtigouin recorded in the Jesuit Relations in 1640, the Mississauga recorded as Oumisagai in 1640, and the Saulteurs recorded later in the seventeenth century. These names represent some of the earliest documentary evidence for the peoples who would later be identified collectively under the ethnonyms Ojibwa, Ojibwe, and Chippewa.
In 1907, The Indian Advocate, citing the Bureau of American Ethnology, identified the Baouichtigouin as one of the earliest recorded references to the tribe. The article also observed that the people had occupied the north shore of Lake Superior since "time immemorial." Archaeological evidence, including pictographs, petroglyphs, and petroforms, continues to be studied as part of the region's long cultural history.
The people known today as the Ojibwe, Chippewa, Ojibwa, Otchipwe, Mississauga, Saulteaux, and Nipissing have been identified by many different names throughout the historical record. Some names are autonyms used by the people themselves, while others are exonyms applied by neighboring Indigenous nations or by European observers. Together they preserve a remarkable documentary history spanning more than four centuries.
One influential nineteenth-century form, Otchipwe, appeared on the title pages of Father Frederic Baraga's dictionaries and grammars. During the twentieth century, the standardized spelling Ojibwe gradually became the preferred form in government, education, publishing, and modern scholarship, while Chippewa remained the predominant historical spelling throughout much of the earlier English-language documentary record. Both continue to be used by Indigenous communities today.
Several explanations have been proposed for the origin and meaning of the name. In 1823 William Keating suggested it referred to the puckered seam of a moccasin. William Warren later associated it with the roasting of Dakota prisoners. Modern linguistic interpretations generally derive the word from Algonquian roots relating to puckering or roasting. No single explanation has achieved universal acceptance.
Historically, the Ojibwe were not a single uniform political or geographic entity. The documentary record distinguishes among regional peoples including the Chippewa, Mississauga, Saulteaux, and Nipissing, while museums and historical collections frequently identify artifacts by regional designations such as Upper Canada Ojibway, Lower Canada Ojibway, Southwest Chippewa, and Saulteaux. Understanding these historical divisions helps explain the diversity of names encountered throughout the documentary record.
The Ojibwe or Chippewa referred to the Iroquois as Naadowe, plural Naadowegwag, a term is commonly interpreted as "adder" or "rattlesnake" and used metaphorically to describe a dangerous enemy. Rather than functioning solely as an insult, the term appears to have conveyed the idea of a serious threat or formidable foe. Historically it applied to all the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. A related form was applied to the Dakota as Nadowessi, which the French later rendered as Nadoweissioux (French plural), eventually shortened to Sioux. Other interpretations connect the term to the Proto-Algonquian word for the massasauga rattlesnake or translate it as "true adders" and "lesser adders."
The name the Ojibwe used for the Menominee people was Manoomini or Wild Rice People. The Cayuga were the Gaiuckwaron or the people of the great swamp. the Oneida were the Bwo-ni-gan of the people of the standing stone: the Seneca were the Nundawaron of the people of the great hill, the Miami were the Nundawaron or the people of the peninsula, and the Shawnee were the Shawano or the southerners. The Gros Ventre were the Gi-aucth--in-in-e-weg the men-of-the-olden-time. However, William Warren reported the name used was Minne-larees. The Ioway were the Ayuhwa or the sleepy one and the Omaha were the people over there or the Akantipaak. The Cheyenne were called the Bwaa of Bwaag that was a general term for plains people. The Pawnee were named the Nadawens.
This study examines the historical documentary record of the Ojibwe ethnonyms. Its purpose is to distinguish the chronological sequence of recorded forms from theories of linguistic development while documenting the historical public footprint of those ethnonyms throughout North American society.
A useful distinction in examining the historical record is the difference between sequence and progression.
Sequence concerns the documentary evidence itself: what forms appear in the written record, when they appear, where they appear, and who recorded them.
Progression concerns the interpretation of that evidence: how the recorded forms may be linguistically related and how they may have evolved over time.
In discussions of the terms Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Chippewa, and Otchipwe, these two questions are often conflated. This study treats them as separate but complementary lines of inquiry.
The documentary sequence of recorded forms is relatively straightforward. Seventeenth-century French sources record spellings such as Outchibouec (1667), Outchipoue (1669), Outchibous (1670, 1679), Otchipois and Otchipoeses (1682), and Ouchipöe (1697). Nineteenth-century missionary works, including those of Father Frederic Baraga, continue to employ the spelling Otchipwe. English-language sources commonly use Chippewa and Chippeway. These spellings appear in the Library of Congress newspaper collection beginning in the 1750s, while the forms Ojibwa, Ojibway, and Ojibwe first appear in the 1830s, reflecting changing linguistic and orthographic conventions.
The progression—the relationship among these forms—is a matter of interpretation rather than direct observation. Linguists may reasonably conclude that the various spellings represent French, English, and later scholarly attempts to record the same underlying Indigenous ethnonym. However, any proposed linguistic progression must account for the documented sequence rather than replace it. Modern standardized forms should not be projected backward into historical periods in which they do not appear, nor should intermediate forms such as Otchipwe be omitted when examining the historical development of the ethnonym. Establishing the documentary sequence of historical usage is therefore a necessary first step before evaluating theories concerning linguistic development and the relationships among the various recorded forms.
As used throughout this website, inclusion extends beyond the inclusion of people or places to include the historical public life of ethnonyms themselves. Here, inclusion refers to the incorporation of an ethnonym into the geographic, civic, commercial, cultural, military, transportation, educational, organizational, and institutional record documented throughout North American history.
In this context, inclusion describes where and how an ethnonym appears in documented public life rather than the motivations of those who used it or contemporary preferences regarding its use. Whether an ethnonym is presently preferred, non-preferred, historic, or modern, its appearance within the documentary record represents evidence of public recognition, acknowledgment, and historical inclusion.
Accordingly, this website examines the historical documentary footprint of Ojibwe ethnonyms by compiling their appearance across maps, newspapers, books, government documents, military records, transportation, banking, commerce, businesses, organizations, public institutions, and material culture. Individually these references may appear unrelated; collectively they document the remarkable public life of the ethnonyms themselves.
Learning to "See" the Historical Footprint
Much of the evidence of Ojibwa history is not hidden. It is visible in the names of places, streets, businesses, ships, railroads, products, organizations and countless other aspects of everyday life. What is often missing is not the evidence itself, but the habit of recognizing what that evidence represents. This site follows those names and traces them back through the historical record, making visible a footprint that has been hiding in plain sight.
Library of Congress Chronicling America newspaper searches demonstrate that the historical use of Ojibwe ethnonyms and their many spelling variations changed considerably over time. The following table summarizes the frequency with which selected ethnonyms and historical spellings appear within the Library of Congress digital newspaper collection.
Each search result represents a documented occurrence of an ethnonym or spelling within a specific digitized newspaper. Collectively, these references illustrate the extensive historical documentary footprint of the Ojibwe ethnonyms throughout the American press.
Date Range Chippewa Chippeway Ojibwa Ojibway Ojibwe Ojibbeways
1750–1799 25 4 0 0 0 0
1800–1849 4,650 444 59 33 4 105
1850–1899 67,312 857 685 972 4 164
1900–1949 79,951 1,015 5,225 6,536 16 2
1950–1999 1,508 1 14 44 0 0
The search counts shown above are those returned by the Library of Congress Chronicling America search engine. Spot-checking of individual search results indicates that returned articles may include OCR-related matches, variant spellings, partial-word matches, or normalized search results in addition to exact spelling matches. Accordingly, the search totals should be viewed as indicators of documentary presence rather than precise counts of literal spelling occurrences. Individual newspaper pages should always be consulted whenever exact historical orthography is important.
The Ojibwe language is known today as Anishinaabemowin, meaning "the original people's language." It belongs to the Algonquian language family and is polysynthetic and agglutinative, combining roots, prefixes, and suffixes into highly complex words. Early explorers and missionaries encountered numerous dialects, resulting in a wide variety of spellings and recorded pronunciations. There is no evidence that the language was ever completely uniform across the vast territory occupied by Ojibwe-speaking peoples.
The language is generally divided into three major branches: Ottawa, spoken in southern Ontario and Michigan; Severn, spoken in northern Ontario and Manitoba; and Algonquin, spoken in southern Quebec. Each branch contains additional regional dialects. Father Frederic Baraga used the term Otchipwé when publishing both his dictionary and grammar of the language. Historical sources attribute several meanings to the word Otchipwé, including "those who use writing," "those who make lodges," "those who came before," and "those who came from the rapids."
Ojibwe or Anishinaabemowin is considered one of the more difficult North American languages for English speakers to learn. According to the Foreign Service Institute classification system, it falls within the highest category of language-learning difficulty. Professor Anton Treuer has noted that fluent speakers have become increasingly rare in the United States, with many of the remaining speakers residing on Minnesota's Red Lake Reservation.
In traditional Ojibwe teaching, east is the primary direction because it is associated with the rising sun. Knowledge is said to come from the east. Frances Densmore recorded that Ojibwe bu
.
The historical footprint of the Otchipwé nation can be understood on several levels. The most obvious is physical presence—the lands where Ojibwe communities lived, traveled, hunted, fished, traded, and established villages. Geography preserves that history through rivers, lakes, forests, communities, and other place names that mark where the nation once stood.
The historical record also preserves forms of presence that extend beyond the physical homeland. A nation may leave a lasting footprint through public recognition, language, military service, commerce, education, literature, and civic life. Together, these forms of evidence provide a broader understanding of the nation's historical influence.
The Otchipwé historical footprint includes:
* Physical Presence — where the people lived, traveled, hunted, fished, traded, and established communities.
* Geographic Footprint — rivers, lakes, counties, townships, forests, parks, communities, and other place names preserving the nation's presence on the landscape.
* Documentary Footprint — newspapers, books, maps, government publications, photographs, military records, oral histories, and other historical documents.
* Military Presence — the service of Ojibwe men and women together with military units, ships, battle honors, memorials, and wartime contributions.
* Commercial Footprint — corporations, transportation, products, trademarks, advertisements, stock certificates, and the many ways the ethnonym entered commerce.
* Public Recognition — schools, streets, parks, public buildings, monuments, civic institutions, and other acts of official or community acknowledgment.
* Cultural Presence — language, literature, art, music, traditional practices, and the adoption of Ojibwe names such as Nokomis, Hiawatha, Kwasind, Mudjekeewis, and Pau-Puk-Keewis into the broader public consciousness.
These forms of presence should not be considered independently. A single subject may represent several forms simultaneously. A naval vessel, for example, may represent military presence, public recognition, cultural presence, and documentary evidence at the same time.
When the ethnonym or an Ojibwe cultural name is deliberately applied to a place, community, street, business, military vessel, public institution, or other feature, it constitutes a documented act of public recognition. The name itself documents the nation's presence within the historical record, regardless of whether Ojibwe people were physically present at that location. Viewed collectively, these acts of recognition reveal a more complete picture of the Otchipwé nation's historical footprint, influence, and enduring presence than any single category of evidence could provide.
Across North America the names Chippewa, Ojibwe, and Otchipwé survive in rivers, lakes, forests, parks, counties, townships, communities, islands, and provinces. Few Indigenous nations appear to have left a comparable geographic imprint across North America. The distribution of these names serves as a reminder that modern political borders often obscure the historical size and influence of the Otchipwé nation.
The public recognition of the Chippewa/Ojibwe people extends far beyond counties, rivers, lakes, mountains, and townships. Cities and towns across the United States and Canada have incorporated the name into their street systems, including Chippewa Street, Chippewa Avenue, Chippewa Road, Ojibway Parkway, Ojibwe Drive, Ojibway Court, and Ojibwa Court. In Ontario and Manitoba, roads also preserve the name Saulteaux. These municipal place names are encountered daily by thousands of residents and businesses, providing a continuing form of public acknowledgment that extends well beyond the traditional Ojibwe homeland.
The widespread use of Chippewa, Chippeway, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Otchipwé, and Saulteaux in municipal and geographic place names demonstrates that these names became firmly embedded within the civic and geographic landscape of North America. Each street, avenue, road, drive, trail, lane, court, circle, parkway, river, lake, county, township, community, and mountain reflects a conscious naming decision and contributes to a broader cultural footprint that remains visible in communities far removed from the Great Lakes region.
Each place name represents a separate act of public recognition and should be credited to the spelling that was actually used. A Chippewa Street, Chippewa County, or Chippewa National Forest cannot be reassigned to another spelling without altering the historical record. The recognition occurred under the name chosen by the community, government, surveyor, railroad, mapmaker, or local authority at the time. Preserving the original spellings allows the historical footprint of each form - Chippewa, Chippeway, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Otchipwé, and Saulteaux - to be measured and evaluated on the basis of the historical record itself.
An examination of the place-name record also reveals a notable disparity in spelling usage. While several forms remain represented across North America, the overwhelming majority of public geographic and municipal recognitions appear under the name Chippewa. This does not determine modern usage or personal preference, but it is an observable characteristic of the historical record. The maps, street signs, county names, rivers, lakes, parks, and public institutions preserve the names that were actually chosen and used, providing a measurable record of public recognition over time.
The distribution of North American street names reveals a striking historical pattern. Although several ethnonyms remain in use, the overwhelming majority of public street recognitions occur under the name Chippewa, followed by Hiawatha, whose widespread adoption reflects the lasting influence of Longfellow's poem. Together, these street names document hundreds of independent acts of public recognition that extend far beyond the traditional Ojibwe homeland and remain part of the everyday landscape of North America.
Alberta
British Columbia
Canada
Colorado
Georgia
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Manitoba
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
New Mexico
New York
Oklahoma
Ohio
Ontario
Pennsylvania
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Across North America the Chippewa, Ojibwe, Otchipwé name survives in rivers, lakes, forests, parks, counties, townships, communities, islands, and provinces. No other Indigenous nation has left a comparable geographic imprint. The distribution of these names serves as a reminder that modern political borders often obscure the historical size and influence of the Otchipwé nation.
The public recognition of the Chippewa/Ojibwe people extends far beyond counties, rivers, lakes, mountains, and townships. Cities and towns across the United States and Canada have incorporated the name into their street systems, including Chippewa Street, Chippewa Avenue, Chippewa Road, Ojibway Parkway, Ojibwe Drive, Ojibway Court, and Ojibwa Court. In Ontario and Manitoba there are roads that use Saulteaux. These municipal place names represent thousands of residents and businesses that encounter the name in daily life, providing a form of public acknowledgment that extends well beyond traditional maps of tribal territory.
The widespread use of Chippewa, Chippeway, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Otchipwé, and Saulteaux in municipal and geographic place names demonstrates that these names became firmly embedded within the civic and geographic landscape of North America. Each street, avenue, road, drive, trail, lane, court, circle, parkway, river, lake, county, township, community, and mountain reflects a conscious naming decision and contributes to a broader cultural footprint that remains visible in communities far removed from the Great Lakes region.
Each place name represents a separate act of public recognition and should be credited to the spelling that was actually used. A Chippewa Street, Chippewa County, or Chippewa National Forest cannot be reassigned to another spelling without altering the historical record. The recognition occurred under the name chosen by the community, government, surveyor, railroad, mapmaker, or local authority at the time. Preserving the original spellings allows the historical footprint of each form—Chippewa, Chippeway, Ojibwa, Ojibway, Ojibwe, Otchipwé, and Saulteaux—to be measured and evaluated on the basis of the record itself.
An examination of the place-name record also reveals a notable disparity in spelling usage. While several forms remain represented across North America, the overwhelming majority of public geographic and municipal recognitions appear under the name Chippewa. This does not determine modern usage or personal preference, but it is an observable characteristic of the historical record. The maps, street signs, county names, rivers, lakes, parks, and public institutions preserve the names that were actually chosen and used, providing a measurable record of public recognition over time.
The distribution of North American street names reveals a striking historical pattern. Although several ethnonyms remain in use, the overwhelming majority of public street recognitions occur under the name Chippewa, followed by Hiawatha, whose widespread adoption reflects the lasting influence of Longfellow's poem. Together, these street names document hundreds of independent acts of public recognition that extend far beyond the traditional Ojibwe homeland and remain part of the everyday landscape of North America.
The total roads in Canada and the United States named with Ojibwe ethnonyms
and cultural names:
The geographic footprint is also reflected in the numerous historical markers, roadside plaques, and monuments documented in Gallery #6: Markers & plaques, snapshots to history, on page 7.
https://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique?id=FDYMT
https://en.stnameslab.com/american-search-app/
A curious historical paradox emerged during the development of this website. While modern discussions often focus on ethnonym preference, the historical record reveals that the name Chippewa accumulated an extraordinary degree of public recognition and acknowledgment throughout North American society.
The name appears not only on counties, rivers, lakes, townships, forests, parks, communities, monuments, historical markers, and plaques, but also on ships, trains, military aircraft, businesses, commercial products, and countless other public references. The appearance of the ethnonym across these diverse settings did not result from a single event or coordinated effort. Rather, it reflects countless independent decisions by governments, communities, institutions, manufacturers, transportation companies, military organizations, and private individuals over more than two centuries.
Over time the name moved beyond geography and became embedded in the public life of North America through maps, transportation, commerce, public commemoration, and everyday use. For many people, Chippewa came to represent regional identity, durability, historical significance, or simple familiarity long before modern debates over terminology emerged.
The evidence appears throughout this website—in the chronology, geographic footprint, historical markers, monuments, photographs, newspapers, ships, trains, aircraft, businesses, and commercial products. Viewed individually these references may seem unrelated. Viewed collectively they reveal a remarkable pattern of historical, cultural, commercial, military, and public recognition.
The paradox is not that the name exists, but that the ethnonym which accumulated the overwhelming historical documentary footprint is not necessarily the ethnonym preferred in modern usage. Whether one prefers Chippewa, Ojibwa, Ojibwe, or Otchipwé today, the documentary record demonstrates that Chippewa became deeply embedded in the geographic, commercial, transportation, military, and civic landscape of North America.
This paradox was not the objective of the project. It emerged from the evidence itself. What began as the collection of maps, place names, historical markers, photographs, newspapers, and chronology entries gradually revealed a broader pattern. The paradox was not created by this website; it was discovered through the historical record assembled here.
Regardless of contemporary ethnonym preference, the historical record demonstrates that the ethnonym Chippewa accumulated an overwhelming documentary footprint of public recognition, acknowledgment, and integration throughout the civic, commercial, cultural, military, transportation, and geographic landscape of North America. (see Public/Commercial Footprint Galleries, page 6)
Nose art on a B-17 during WWII
One of the first images made of the Nipissing.
©Library of Congress
One of the first images made of the Jibboway.
©Haughton Library, Harvard University
©Liverpool Museum
©Haughton Library, Harvard University
The Pembina band is unique in the Anishinaabe nation for having signed treaties with both the United States and Canadian governments. The band has four reserves in Ontario as the Roseau River First Nation and one in the U.S. the Turtle Mountain Chippewa reservation in North Dakota.
Ferdinand Hirt's Geographische Bildertafeln: eine Ergänzung zu den Lehrbüchern der Geographie in sonderheit zu denen von Ernst von Seydlitz, 1884
CC BY 4.0
Illustrated London NewsSept. 15, 1849,
©The New York Public Library Digital Collections
USS Chippewa sail plan. She was a 108' brig which was a variant of the brigantine class ships due to the rigging. It made her a faster ship due to the increased sail area.
14 × 32 pounders
2 × 12 pounders
NARA wikicommons
USS Chippewa (1815) — Mediterranean Squadron. Commissioned in 1815, the brig Chippewa, commanded by Lieutenant George C. Read, sailed with Commodore William Bainbridge's Mediterranean Squadron. After entering the Mediterranean in August, she participated in the squadron's demonstrations of American naval power before the Barbary states following the conclusion of peace with Algiers. The squadron visited Mediterranean ports including Carthagena and Gibraltar and displayed its force off Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli before returning to the United States in October.
Smithsonian, wikicommons
ca.1730 naval Combat between the Ojbbeway and Sauk-Fox on Lake Superior. Engraving by Seth Eastman. During the Fox Wars the Fox abducted Ojibbeway females who were rescued during this battle near the mouth of the Montreal River in New France, now Wisconsin. wikicommons
Named Chippewa
.
wikicommons
Getty Museum wikicommons
wikicommons
Smithsonian
Smithsonian
Note: William W. Warren states that Keesh-ke-mun's George Washington Peace Medal had been presented by a "former commandant of Fort Howard." This presents a chronological difficulty, as Fort Howard at Green Bay was not established until 1816, after the War of 1812. A more likely explanation is that Warren intended Fort Mackinac, which came under United States control in 1796 following Jay's Treaty, the last year Washington was in office. This places an American commandant at Fort Mackinac precisely when a Washington Peace Medal would have been presented. While no surviving record has yet been found identifying the presentation, the chronology strongly favors Fort Mackinac over Fort Howard.
© J. L. Bell
The President Millard Fillmore peace medal is engraved: " PRESENTED TO CHIEF / MAUNGWUDAUS / OCTOBER 10, 1851". Sold November 2017 for $18,700
© Heritage Auctions
Research Note: Standard references on United States presidential Indian Peace Medals describe the medals, their manufacture, and their presentation, but we have found no discussion of engraved recipient names as a distinct subject. Research to date has identified no other Canadian chief receiving a United States presidential Indian Peace Medal, nor another presidential Indian Peace Medal engraved with the recipient's name.
© Heritage Auctions
Treaties and Diplomacy
The Ojibwa Chippewa have a long tradition of treaty making that predates European contact. Intertribal agreements were negotiated between individual nations and often recorded through wampum belts, which preserved the terms of alliances, peace settlements, and shared responsibilities.
Among the earliest recorded agreements is the One Dish wampum tradition between Ojibwa and Haudenosaunee communities. In 1840, Reverend Peter Jones described a Mississauga council where several historic wampum belts were renewed, including the One Dish belt and agreements made at Buffalo, the Maumee River, and Wellington Square, Ontario.
The historical record indicates that diplomacy between the Ojibwa and neighboring nations was continuous. French, British, Canadian, and American officials frequently participated in or documented agreements intended to maintain peace among the Mississauga, Iroquois, Chippewa Dakota, Cree, Fox, Winnebago, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and other nations.
The Ojibwa Chippewa Nation has signed more treaties than any other tribe or First Nation: 1 French, 28 British, 10 Canadian, and 51 United States treaties. The first treaty with the British Crown was the Treaty of Niagara (1764), the first numbered Canadian treaty was Treaty No. 1 (1871), and the first treaty with the United States was the multi-nation Treaty of Greenville (1795).
There were inter-tribal treaties long before the Europeans showed up, between indivdual tribes. Wampum belts were made to record the agreements. The first recorded treaty between the Ojibwa and the Six Nations of the Iroquois confederacy is a One Dish wampum. In 1840 Rev. Jones recorded a Mississauga Pow wow where the Iroquois came with four wampum belts to be renewed. The first to be read was the One dish belt that had been made many years before at the east end of Lake Ontario. The second came from a treaty agreed on at Buffalo, NY, the third was a peace agreement on the Maumee River, and the last wampum was for a peace at Wellington Square, in London, Ontario between the Ojiebways, Ottawa, and the Six Nations in 1815. Multiple archives have a one dish Wampum indicating it had a regional use between neighboring tribes as oppposed to including bands great distances away that had no part in the wampum exchange.
Rev. Joes also referenced a wampum belt given by the Nahdooways ca.1614 when the first Europeans arrived.
pp. 101-17. https://files01.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/322837923.pdf.
https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/researching-history-wampum-belts/
Two hundred plus years of war between the Sioux and the Otchipwe seems to have been going on when European explorers first made contact, as it was noted by many of them. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, made an informal effort to end the hostilities in an effort to promote the fur trade. In 1903, Gus. Beaulieu, editor of the White Earth Tomahawk published that oral history had two versions of the beginning of the war. "200 Year of War", The Tomahawk, Jun. 15, 1903, p.1, MNHS. https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/PsImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=a535ba9d-8652-4a9f-9fd5-10f89fae5ad1%2Fmnhi0031%2F1H0YRB5A%2F03061501
Pre-contact Wampum and the One Dish Wampum was an established tradition between tribes for achieving peace or ending warfare.
1679 Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut brokered a Dacotah-Chippewa truce.
1685 Nicolas Perrot the new commandant in chief at Baie des Puants (Green Bay) brokered an inter-tribal peace between the Fox, Sioux and Chippewa. The Chippewa had suffered a heavy loss and the Ottawa were coming to avenge their brothers. Perrot learned a Chippewa female and been a captive a year and the Foxes were considering burning at the stake to avenge the Chippewa killing of a esteemed Chief. Perrot went alone into the Fox camp and secured her release which got him a promise from the girls father that the Chippewa and their allies would renounce the hostilities.
1693 Pierre-Charles Le Sueur brokered a truce between the Sioux and the Chippewa near present-day Ashland, Wisconsin.
1701 Great Peace of Montreal, One Dish wampum, The Great Peace of Montreal involved about 39 Indigenous nations and the French.
1727-8 Ensign Godefroy de Linctot became commander of the French post at Chagouamigon (La Pointe, Lake Superior) and brokered a Sioux -Chippeway truce.
1754 Sieur Marin, commandant at Green Bay, concluded a treaty of peace between the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and other Bay tribes and the Chippeways, Christinaux (Cree), and French, bringing a temporary end to decades of warfare in the upper Mississippi and Great Lakes.
1762 Lt. Gorrell at Green Bay assisted in a treaty between the Chippewa and Menominee.
1764 – Treaty of Niagara was a Crown treaty, as well as a diplomatic council involving numerous Indigenous nations and the renewal of the Covenant Chain.
1775 A grand council was held at Michilimackinac by British Commandant Arent Schuyler De Peyster; aided by North West Company trader Peter Pond, secured a temporary truce between the Chippewa and Sioux.
1787 "In July of 1787 the British government arranged a treaty of peace signed by the Sioux, Chippewa and Winnebago. Among the Chippewa bands signing the treaty were those from Sandy Lake, Lake "Vinnibigoshish" and Leech Lake." Indian Claims Commission, Docket 18-B p.788 file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/p17279coll10_510%20(1).pdf
1825 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien Sacs and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Sioux, Winnebago, and a portion of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawattomie, Tribes. Article 1; There shall be a firm and perpetual peace between the Sioux and Chippewas.
ca.1830 A year after the Battle of Long Prairie Yankton Chief Shappa sent a peace pipe to Pembina in the possession of his captured Ojibbway wife that was accepted. Warren wrote that was followed by the Platte River Peace of the Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Mdewakanton Dakotas with the Ojibways of the Mississippi, Sandy Lake, and Mille Lacs Lake, That was on the Platte River near its junction with the Mississippi. Warren records this as part of a broader Dakota effort to establish peace with the Ojibways. Events nearly ended it the same day.
1840 A Sioux Chippewa truce was brokered by the American Fur Co. at Fort Snelling that was broken immediately. "Battle of Stillwater & Rum River" The Minnesota Pioneer (St. Paul, Minn. Territory), Jun. 14, 1849, p.2, Library of Congress
1844 Iron Confederacy Métis leader Cuthbert Grant, negotiated a truce with the Sioux, traditional enemies of the Cree, Saulteaux and Metis that lasted seven years, until the Battle of Grand Coteau.
1858 Sweetcorn Treaty.[206]
1859 Sioux, Chippewa/Metis Pow wow at Les Isles aux Mort, north-west of Devil’s Lake, Dakota Territory. The purpose was to agree on hunting ground boundaries for the Sioux, Metis and Chippewa.
1861 The Dakota Metis Treaty of 1861 "Half-Breed hunters and Chippewa under Chief Wilkie sent a band to Washington to meet Lincoln for advice on gaining peace between the tribes. Chief Wilkie and Peter Grant were picked and impressed the President, "so that he told them they could have all the ammunition they needed for their protection. He asked them at the same time not to induce trouble but to go to them as brothers taking with them the bravest and best to make parley for peace".
https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/14228.Dakota-Metis.pdf
1862 Friendship Treaty p.7-10 https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/14228.Dakota-Metis.pdf#:~:text=At%20the%20peak%20of%20his,the%20Cree%20and%20Saulteaux%20and
1870 Fort Abercrombie Treaty, Our own State, Minneapolis Daily Tribune, Aug. 20, 1870, p.4, Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub, 2024, MNHS. [214][207] Some claim this treaty remains unbroken but that is false, reported July 1881, Massachusetts Weekly Spy (Worcester, Mass.).
1873 North-West Angle Treaty, Saulteaux Chief Kou-croche went to Fort Garry specifically to tell Alexander Morris that the Saulteaux wanted to make peace with the Sioux.
(Note:) An interesting pattern emerges from the historical record. Many documented intertribal peace agreements involving the Ojibwa were negotiated or facilitated by a neutral third party. French officers, British officials, fur traders, Métis leaders, and later U.S. representatives served as diplomatic intermediaries, recognizing that peace among neighboring nations was essential to maintaining trade, alliances, and regional stability. Rather than acting primarily as conquerors in this context, French and British officials often functioned as brokers, helping to mediate disputes whose continuation threatened both commerce and political stability.
1870 Fort Abercrombie DT, Aug 12-15 Chippewa/Sioux Peace agreement. has never been broken. ©NDHS
©Library and Archives Canada
The British issued 182 of these medals to their native allies in three sizes: 75mm, 60mm, 38mm dated 1814. One is displayed at Fort Malden, possibly from the Chippewas of Pelee, Caldwell's First Nation today.
1820 Indian agent Major Lawrence Taliaferro, in his first two years at Fort Snelling, was able to get native Americans to turn 36 King George III medals over to him to be replaced by U.S Presidential medals, to extend U.S. sovereignty on the frontier. He also swapped the American Flag for British Union Jacks when he could. It was highly unusual for one to go unexchanged. The BIA was slow in getting Taliaferro the replacements, often taking long periods of time.
Grand Portage Chief Maymushkowaush the first or the second received a King Geo. III medal. In 1979 decendants of Chief Maymushkowaush III donated two King George medals to the Minnesota Historical Society as well as the two Union Jacks the British had given with the medals.
Recipients of the King George 1812 medal: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:King_George_III_Chief's_Medal_Recipients
The size is 36mm or 1.5 inches
wikicommons
Size is 76mm or 3 inches
wikicommons
The moose holds a special place in Otchipwe tradition. In Otchipwe astronomy, the constellation known to many as Pegasus is called Mooz (The Moose). Oral traditions tell of a time when the moose lived in a wigwam as people do, and through a solemn agreement offered themselves to human beings, provided they were honored with gratitude and respect through the offering of tobacco. Because of this relationship, an old teaching has that:
"When there are no more moose, there will be no more Otchipwe."
The word moose itself entered English from an Algonquian language and remains one of the most widely used Indigenous words in North America. Millions of people use the word without realizing its Objiwe origin.
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Credit: Ontario Parks blog