When I renewed my tribal ID last year, I was pleasantly surprised when the clerk asked the name of my clan! In all my not-a-few years, they did not do this. I felt proud that it was happening! I hope the Band as a whole will take the next step. What would that be?
As I understand it, there are 7 major Clans in Red Lake. They are:
- Makwa*
- Wawaazisii
- Migizi
- Ogishkimanisii
- Zhaangweshi
- Waabizheshi
- Miskwaadesi
And as I understand them:
- The Bear clan was part of the Nooke social group and was responsible for: defense and healing
- The Bald Eagle clan was part of the Baswenaazhi social group and was responsible for: outgoing international communications
- The Kingfisher clan was part of the Aan’aawenh social group and was responsible for: internal domestic communications
- The Mink clan and Pine Martin clans were both part of the Moozwaanowe social group and were responsible for: scouting, hunting, and gathering
- The Turtle and Bullhead/Catfish clans were both part of the Wawaazisii social group and were responsible for: teaching and healing.
(You can read more about this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe_clan_system )
I think this clan system of responsibility should be an integral part of the Band as a whole.
Here’s why:
There is nothing that bonds one person to another person more, than service out of care or love in some fashion. In addition, the bond runs both ways. This is one of the basic building blocks of a culture, self-esteem and a feeling of belonging. Do you remember the last time you did something nice for someone; and it made them cry, happy or grateful? (You too, because it made you cry, happy, or proud for doing it as well.) Perhaps it was giving a birthday present, doing a chore for someone, or giving a hitchhiker a ride on a cold winter day or you helped get someone’s car unstuck.
Doing this kind of service on a Band wide scale through the clans would go a long way toward solving many of the interpersonal and cultural problems that beset the Band.
Revitalization of responsibilities for clan members would go a long way toward unifying the Band, providing a way for people to develop a feeling of belonging, and pride in doing good which arises because members of the Band care for each other.
There are a few hurdles to pass. The first would be; How we get people to take part in such a system. I believe in the beginning participation should be structured by the Tribal Council and mandatory in that as a member of a clan, you are drafted by the Band to do things. Why? It’s easier to participate in something when you have a structure you can plug into, and secondly, if you have to do something in the beginning, it makes it easier for you to want to do it once you see and feel the positive results.
The second hurdle to pass would be if this were initially mandatory, how does the Band enforce it? I think the best way would be that people would be allowed to pick what responsibilities they wanted which the band offered. Then their clan would be responsible for each individual doing it. If it didn’t get done, then the clan leaders would be responsible for “arranging” for that person to do it. (I’ll leave that up to your imagination.)
The third hurdle to pass is how the responsibilities of each clan are translated into action in the present. How does one translate defense and healing, internal and external communications, scouting, hunting, gathering, and teaching into actions for which individual clans are responsible? Do those responsibilities get translated? Kept? Or does the band assign new responsibilities for each clan?
Would these be paid jobs or part of a program? Nope. You would be doing it for free. If it were paid, then it would be a job, and you wouldn’t feel the same satisfaction you would if you were doing it simply to do good and benefit the Band.
So that’s it in a nutshell.
P.S.
Here are some questions I have.
What is the oral tradition on how these clans came to be for Red Lake?
Are there minor Red Lake clans, and if so, what are they, and what were their responsibilities?
Some specific questions I have are:
Which turtle represents the clan? Is it Mikinaak (Snapping turtle), Mishiikenh (Mud turtle), or Miskwaadesi (Painted turtle)?
Why does the Bald Eagle and not the Golden Eagle represent that clan?
If you know the answers or only know part of the answers I would appreciate what you have.
You can write me in a comment. I moderate your comments so you won’t see them until I vet them and post them. If you don’t want your comments posted, let me know and I won’t post them.
Miigwech,
Russell
*Makwa = Bear
Miskwaadesi = Turtle
Ogishkimanisii = Kingfisher
Migizi = Bald Eagle
Wawaazisii = Bullhead/Catfish
Zhaangweshi = Mink
Waabizheshi = Pine Martin
Littlecreek’s are the martin clan, right? is it different from the Pine Martin clan?
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Same thing!
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Thank you…that was very informative. I have always enjoyed Indian movies esp by Steven Seagull. now I’m reading them in details.
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How do you find out which one you belong too?
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You have to ask your relatives through the male side of the family as it is passed down that way.
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I was reading something a while back about minor clans not officially mentioned by most people. One of them was the lion clan. I only saw it referenced in a study for some history paper, but I can’t find any other place where it is mentioned, or what the other minor clans were.
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How can one determine which clan they belong?
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Hi Elizabeth,
You’d have to check with your male relatives, father, grandfather etc. Or you could check tribal roles, like through Ancestry.com.
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Is there any clan structures drawn out for your Tribe? We are looking for a copy,or if you can recommend where I should look that can help.
I’m from a tribe that has clans.And we are putting together drafts for the clans to decide on.
Thank you
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Sorry Ed, nothing that I’m aware of. In this day and age it can be whatever you want, and then write it down. Keep me posted!
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