Living with Animals : : Ojibwe Spirit Powers / / Michael Pomedli.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press Complete eBook-Package 2014-2015
• VerfasserIn: Pomedli, Michael ,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2018]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (384 p.)

Within nineteenth-century Ojibwe/Chippewa medicine societies, and in communities at large, animals are realities and symbols that demonstrate cultural principles of North American Ojibwe nations. Living with Animals presents over 100 images from oral and written sources – including birch bark scrolls, rock art, stories, games, and dreams – in which animals appear as kindred beings, spirit powers, healers, and protectors.Michael Pomedli shows that the principles at play in these sources are not merely evidence of cultural values, but also unique standards brought to treaty signings by Ojibwe leaders. In addition, these principles are norms against which North American treaty interpretations should be reframed. The author provides an important foundation for ongoing treaty negotiations, and for what contemporary Ojibwe cultural figures corroborate as ways of leading a good, integrated life.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Living With Animals Ojibwe Spirit Powers -- 1. The Grand Medicine Society, The Midewiwin -- 2. “Paths Of The Spirit”: Moral Values In The Writings Of Four Nineteenth-Century Ojibwe In The Spirit Of The Midewiwin -- 3. Otter, The Playful Slider -- 4. Owls: Images And Voices In The Ojibwe And Midewiwin Worlds -- 5. Omnipresent And Ambivalent Bears -- 6. Water Creatures -- 7. Thunderbirds -- Conclusion -- Appendix A Leadership Among The Ojibwe -- Appendix B The Sweat Lodge -- Appendix C Bear As Celestial -- Appendix D Ojibwe Historical Relationship With Copper -- Appendix E Lacrosse And War -- Notes -- Archives And Collections -- Bibliography -- Index