www.bigorrin.org Open in urlscan Pro
52.204.114.237  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

http://www.native-languages.org/search-results.htm

<form action="http://www.native-languages.org/search-results.htm" id="cse-search-box">
  <div>
    <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-8872632675285158:b1nuwouwkjx">
    <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10">
    <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1">
    <input type="text" name="q" size="31">
    <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search Within Our Site">
  </div>
</form>

POST https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
  <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
  <input type="hidden" name="business" value="redish@native-languages.org">
  <input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Native Languages of the Americas">
  <input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1">
  <input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
  <input type="hidden" name="tax" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
  <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but21.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Donate with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">
  <br><br>
  <font size="2"><b><i>Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2020 <img src="star.gif" alt="*"> <a href="mailto:redish@native-languages.org">Contact us</a> <img src="star.gif" alt="*"> <a href="http://www.native-languages.blogspot.com/">Follow our blog</a>
</i></b></font>
</form>

Text Content

North American Indian languages North American Indian tribes First Nation arts






OTTAWA INDIAN FACT SHEET



Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the
Ottawas for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students and teachers
to look through our main Ottawa language and culture pages for in-depth
information about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are
most often asked by children, with Ottawa pictures and links we believe are
suitable for all ages.

Sponsored Links





    Ottawa Tribe

How do you pronounce 'Ottawa'? What does it mean?
Ottawa is pronounced "AH-ta-wa," the same as the city in Canada (which was named
after them.) It is spelled Odawa in their native language, and it means
"traders." The Ottawa people call themselves Anishinabe in their own language,
which means 'original person.'

What is the difference between the Ottawas and the Chippewas?
The Ottawa tribe is related to the Chippewa tribe (also known as the Ojibway
tribe.) The Chippewas and Ottawas have similar customs and speak dialects of the
same language--just like Americans and Canadians speak English with different
accents. But like America and Canada, the Chippewa and Ottawa tribes were
politically independent. After Europeans arrived, some Chippewa and Ottawa bands
merged together, but in most cases, the two nations remain independent today.

Where do the Ottawas live?
Most Ottawa Indian people live in their original homeland in southern Ontario
and Michigan state. Other Ottawas were deported to Oklahoma by the US
government, and some Ottawas assimilated into Ojibway bands. There are about
15,000 Ottawa Indians today.

How is the Ottawa Indian nation organized?
Each Ottawa community lives on its own reservation (or reserve, in Canada.)
Reservations are lands that belong to Indian tribes and are under their control.
Communities of Ottawa Indians are called tribes in the United States and First
Nations in Canada. Each Ottawa tribe is politically independent and has its own
government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. Some Ottawa
bands have formed coalitions with Chippewa bands to address common problems.

The political leader of an Ottawa band is called a chief (gimaa or ogimaa in the
Ottawa/Ojibway language.) In the past Ottawa chiefs were men chosen by tribal
councilmembers, often from among the last chief's sons, nephews, or sons-in-law.
Today Ottawa chiefs are elected in most Ottawa bands, like mayors and governors.

What is the Ottawa tribe's population?
There are about 15,000 citizens of Ottawa Indian bands in Michigan, Ontario, and
Oklahoma today. There are also other people who are Ottawa descendants but are
not tribal members.



What language do the Ottawas speak?
Most Ottawa people speak English, but some of them also speak their native Odawa
language. Odawa is usually considered a dialect of the Ojibwe language. Odawa
and Ojibwa speakers have different accents, just like American and Canadian
English speakers. Here is a comparison of Odawa, Ojibway, and Algonquin
vocabulary. If you'd like to learn a few easy Odawa words, aaniin (pronounced
ah-neen) is a friendly greeting and miigwech (pronounced mee-gwetch) means
"thank you." You can listen to an Ojibway man talk his language here and read a
picture glossary here.



What was Ottawa culture like in the past? What is it like now?
Here is the homepage of Little Traverse Bay Odawa tribal administrator Fred
Harrington. On his site you can find information about the Ottawa people in the
past and today.


Sponsored Links




How do Ottawa Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things any children do--play with each other, go to school and
help around the house. Many Ottawa children like to go hunting and fishing with
their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play,
just like early colonial children. But they did have dolls and toys to play
with, and older boys liked to play lacrosse. Like many Native Americans, Ottawa
mothers traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs. Here
is a website with Native American baby carrier pictures.

What were Ottawa men and women's roles?
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, but today an Ottawa Indian woman could be
chief too.

What were Ottawa homes like in the past?
Ottawa people didn't live in tepees. They lived in villages of birchbark houses
called waginogan, or wigwams. There were also longhouses and sweat lodges in
Ottawa villages. Here are some pictures of Indian house styles like the homes
Ottawa Indians used. Today, Native Americans only build a wigwam for fun or to
connect with their heritage. Most Ottawas live in modern houses and apartment
buildings, just like you.

What was Ottawa clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint?
Ottawa women wore long dresses with detachable sleeves, and in the winter, they
wore robes made of rabbit skin. But Ottawa men usually went naked or wore only a
cloak, even in cold weather and in battle, to show how tough they were. The
Ottawas usually wore leather moccasins on their feet. In colonial times, the
Ottawas adapted European clothing like cloth blouses and jackets, decorating
them with fancy beadwork. Here are some more photographs and links about Native
Canadian clothing in general.

Traditionally, the Ottawas wore leather headbands with feathers standing up in
the back. In the 1800's, some Ottawa men began wearing long headdresses like
their neighbors the Dakota. Other Ottawa men wore their hair in the Mohawk
style, using grease to spike their hair very high in front, and sometimes added
a porcupine roach. Here are some pictures of these different styles of head
dress. Ottawa women usually wore one long braid. The Ottawas often painted their
faces and arms, using different patterns for war paint and festive decoration.
Ottawa men also wore extensive tribal tattoos over their whole bodies.



Today, some Ottawa people still wear moccasins or a beaded shirt, but they also
wear modern clothes like jeans... and they only wear feathers in their hair on
special occasions like a dance.

What was Ottawa transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle
canoes?
Yes--the Ottawa Indian tribe was well-known for their birchbark canoes. Here is
a website with birchbark canoe pictures. Canoeing is still popular within the
Ottawa nation today. Over land, the Ottawas used dogs as pack animals. (There
were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)
The Ottawas also had sleds and snowshoes to help them travel in the winter.
Today, of course, Ottawa people also use cars... and non-native people also use
canoes.

What was Ottawa food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Ottawas were farming people. Ottawa women grew crops of corn, beans, and
squash. Ottawa men hunted deer and small game and went fishing in their canoes.
Ottawa Indian foods included cornbread and soups. Here is a website with more
information about Native American crops.

What were Ottawa weapons and tools like in the past?
Ottawa hunters and warriors used bows and arrows, wooden war clubs, and hide
shields. Here are pictures of wooden Indian clubs and other traditional weapons.
Ottawa fishermen used bone fishhooks and sinew lines.

What are Ottawa arts and crafts like?
Ottawa artists are known for their floral beadwork and birch bark baskets. Like
other eastern American Indians, Ottawa Indians also crafted wampum out of white
and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were traded as a kind of currency, but they
were more culturally important as an art material. The designs and pictures on
wampum belts often told a story or represented a person's family.

What other Native Americans did the Ottawa tribe interact with?
The Ottawa were close allies with the Chippewa and Potawatomi Indians. The
Ottawa, Ojibway, and Potawatomi tribes called themselves the Council of Three
Fires. The Ottawa tribe frequently fought with the Iroquois and Dakota tribes.

What kinds of stories do the Ottawas tell?
There are lots of traditional Ottawa legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is
very important to the Ottawa Indian culture. Here is an Ottawa story about why
corn and beans are planted together. Here's a website where you can read more
about Ottawa myths.

What about Ottawa religion?
Spirituality and religion were important parts of Ottawa life, and some people
continue to practice traditional beliefs today. It is respectful to avoid
imitating religious rituals for school projects since some Ottawa people care
about them deeply. You can read and learn about them, however. You can visit
this site to learn more about Ottawa religious traditions or this site about
religious beliefs of Native Americans in general.

Can you recommend a good book for me to read?
You may enjoy Shadow of the Wolf. That is a historical fiction novel for young
readers about a nineteenth-century Michigan girl interacting with the Potawatomi
and Ottawa Indians. If you want to know more about Ottawa culture and history,
one good source for kids is The Ottawa. You may be interested in this biography
of Ottawa Chief Pontiac, Forest Warrior. You can also browse through our
recommendations of books on Native American culture in general. Disclaimer: we
are an Amazon affiliate and our website earns a commission if you buy a book
through one of these links. Most of them can also be found in a public library,
though!

How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. The
authors' names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is
Native Languages of the Americas. We are a nonprofit educational organization
working to preserve and protect Native American languages and culture. You can
learn more about our organization here. Our website was first created in 1998
and last updated in 2020.

Thanks for your interest in the Ottawa Indian people and their language!

Sponsored Links







LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OTTAWAS

Ottawa Indian Tribe An overview of the Ottawa people, their language and
history.

Ojibwe Language Resources Odawa/Ojibway language samples, articles, and indexed
links.

Ottawa Culture and History Directory Related links about the Ottawa tribe past
and present.

Ottawa Words Ottawa Indian vocabulary lists.



Return to the Native Kids page
Return to our main American Indian Culture page




Native American heritage Dream catcher Pit River Grand Canyon Hualapai Native
words

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American
Indian languages?



Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2020 Contact us Follow our blog