Culture of the Three Fire tribes
Ojibway (Chippewa)
Ojibway Clothing Chippewa women wore long dresses with removable sleeves. Chippewa men wore breechcloths and leggings. Everybody wore moccasins on their feet and cloaks or ponchos in bad weather. Traditionally, the Chippewas wore leather headbands with feathers standing straight up in the back. Chippewa men and women both wore their hair in long braids. |
Ojibway Moccassins
For more clothing information.
www.nativetech.org/clothing/regions/region7.html |
Odawa (Ottawa)
Odawa Adults Ottawa women were farmers and did most of the child care and cooking. Ottawa men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Both genders practiced story-telling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Ottawa chiefs were always men. |
Pontiac: A Famous Odawa Chief
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Odawa Leather Moccassins
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Odawa Clothing Odawa women wore long dresses with detachable sleeves, and in the winter, they wore robes made of rabbit skin. Odawa men usually only a cloak, even in cold weather and in battle, to show how tough they were. The Odawa usually wore leather moccasins on their feet. |
Potawatomi
Potawatomi Children
Potawatomi kids had dolls and toys to play with. Older Potawatomi kids played team ball games--lacrosse for boys and men, and double shinny for girls and women. Potawatomi mothers traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs. |
Potawatomi girls playing double shinny
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Chief Rat River of the Potawatomi
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Potawatomi Adults Potawatomi women were farmers and did most of the child care and cooking. Potawatomi men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Both genders practiced story-telling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. Unlike some tribes, the chief of a Potawatomi village could be either a man or a woman. |
Potawatomi Clothes Potawatomi women wore long deerskin dresses. Potawatomi men wore breechcloths, leggings, and deerskin shirts. The Potawatomis wore moccasins on their feet and robes in bad weather. Traditionally, they usually wore a leather headband with one or two feathers standing straight up in the back. Potawatomi men sometimes wore otter-fur turbans. Both |
Potawatomi man wearing an otter- fur turban
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men and women usually wore their hair long, but in times of war, Potawatomi men would shave their heads in the Mohawk style instead. The Potawatomi men painted their faces for special occasions. They used different colors and patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration.