Ojibwe religion

Ojibwe religion is the traditional Native American religion of the Ojibwe people. It is practiced primarily in north-eastern North America, within Ojibwe communities in Canada and the United States. The tradition has no formal leadership or organizational structure and displays much internal variation.

Central to Ojibwe religion are powerful spirit beings called the manitouk. These come in various forms, each of which has a different relationship to humanity. Among the most prominent are the animikeek or thunderbirds, who bring storms and are generally helpful to humans, while the Mishebeshu are underwater and underground serpents whose activities are often harmful. In Ojibwe religion, a successful life is one that has secured the support of powerful manitouk, often through the provision of offerings like tobacco. Ojibwe religious practitioners undergo vision quests as a means of establishing a relationship with a manitou that becomes their guiding patron; prior to the 20th century, almost every Ojibwe male undertook this vision quest when they reached puberty. Another important aspect of Ojibwe religion is the midewiwin, a society whose rituals engage with the manitouk to oversee healing.

One of the Algonquian-speaking peoples, the Ojibwe originally lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. In that context, relationships with manitouk were deemed crucial for securing food supplies. Early contacts with Christian Europeans came in the 17th century, when several Roman Catholic missions were established among Ojibwe communities. The 19th century saw the arrival of Protestant missions and the ultimate restriction of many Ojibwe people to reservations. Here, the Ojibwe were exposed more heavily to Christianity and many elements of Ojibwe religion, such as the midewiwin and puberty vision quests, declined substantially. Encouraged by the American Indian Movement, the 1960s and 1970s saw revitalisation efforts to revive Ojibwe traditional religion. In the late 20th century, Ojibwe practices were increasingly influenced by other Native American religions, especially those of the Lakota.