Assassination of Hole in the Day

Appendix D

217 Appendix D More on Language The Meaning of Ojibwe and Anishinaabe The meaning of the word ojibwe is debated. Alexander Ramsey asserted that ojibwe described the contraction or narrowing of the Great Lakes at Mackinac, but no linguistic analysis supports this conclusion. He most likely confused the meaning of the place with the name of the people who lived there. Henry Schoolcraft believed that ojibwe was derived from bwe (pertaining to voice) and that it described a “peculiarity in intonation of the voice” in the Ojibwe language. George Belcourt, for whom Belcourt, North Dakota, was named, believed it was in reference to “drawling pronunciation.” Peter Kelly, former grand chief of Treaty Council Three in Ontario, asserted that it was a derivation of wajiw, meaning “mountain” and described the original hilly homeland of the Ojibwe near Montreal. Lewis Henry Morgan wrote that the word ojibwe was actually a derivation of the Ojibwe word for root, jiibik, and signified that the Ojibwe were the “root or stem” of all people.1 Harold Hickerson believed that the word ojibwe was a derivation of the Proto-­ Algonquian morphemes for crane and voice. It is difficult to ascertain from his book how Hickerson arrived at this conclusion or which sources he used. The Ojibwe word for crane, ajijaak, sounds very different from ojibwe. Furthermore, ajijaak describes the physical appearance of the crane’s long sticklike legs. Those morphemes, when broken down and rearranged (to get ojibwe) would not retain their reference to crane when attached to other morphemes. However, it is true that the crane clan was one of the traditional clans of hereditary civil chiefs in Ojibwe society. It is also true that sometimes villages and larger groups were identified by the dominant clans represented in the community.2 218  Assassination of Hole in the Day A more widely accepted explanation of ojibwe is that it pertains to puckering, or drawing up tight. Some have asserted that this is in reference to the “puckering of lips in speaking or drinking.” William W. Warren wrote that most Ojibwe elders with whom he spoke said that the meaning of puckering is in reference to the puckered seam of the typical Ojibwe moccasin. George Copway believed that this was the origin of the word as well. Copway even claimed that it originated at a council of Indians at present-­ day Prairie du Chien where the entire Ojibwe delegation wore moccasins with a puckered seam. Others feel that puckering is the meaning, but in reference to the tightening of wet moccasins near fire.3 Warren illuminated a second conclusion as well, although it was speculative. Warren’s second definition of the word ojibwe is that it described the process of roasting captives until puckered up, from ojib (to pucker) and bwaa (to roast). This seems unlikely, for the aa and e sounds in Ojibwe are different, nor is it historically probable. Captives were occasionally tortured by fire, but this was never a common practice. It also seems improbable that the Ojibwe would use a word laden with negative connotations as a term of self-­ reference. Warren also noted that “the name does not date far back,” suggesting that he was not entirely convinced of this explanation.4 Helen Tanner believes that ojibwe is derived from the Ojibwe practice of writing on birch bark. Although many tribes wrote on birch bark, the custom was especially important to the Ojibwe and widely practiced. Bark writing was an identifying trademark in Ojibwe culture. Although Tanner does not provide a linguistic analysis to back up her assertion, it is valid. The zh sound in Ojibwe is quite similar to j. Therefore, ojibwe could easily be a derivation of ozhi-­ , pertaining to writing, as in ozhibii’ige, meaning “he writes.” Edmund Danziger drew the conclusion that ojibwe means “those who make pictographs.” This definition has merit as well in view of the similarity between oji and ozhi.5 Of all the aforementioned explanations, those referring to the puckered seam of the Ojibwe moccasin and writing practices common to the Ojibwe seem the most probable. As with many things in Ojibwe oral tradition, there may be more than one right explanation. Ojibwe people most commonly use the term anishinaabe in reference to themselves. Many reputable scholars are beginning to use the Appendix D: Language   219 term anishinaabe in their scholarship as well. Ojibwe elders I interviewed from White Earth and Mille...