A reader previously asked the question of whether I knew of any other clans in the Red Lake System. At that time I did not. But I’m pleasantly surprised to learn, and pleased to share, that more existed in antiquity. Here is the source of that knowledge:
From the Bulletin of the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Volume 2, 1880-1882, Red Lake Notes. Pages 99-100.
Totems of Red Lake Odjibwas. –Herewith is subjoined, in the hope that it may be of use for future reference, a list of the totems of the Red Lake band of Odjibwas. There were named to the writer by the old chief, Little Rock, who is a leading medicine man belonging to the grand medicine, as it is called, and who was pointed out as authority in the matter under investigation. Miss Mary Warren, to whom Odjibwa and English are alike mother tongues, kindly undertook to act as interpreter in the case. This cultivated lady is thoroughly conversant, not only with the purely theoretical range of the totem system, but likewise with its practical workings and she has taken especial pains to ensure a precise translation in the present instance.
TOTEMS OF RED LAKE ODJIBWAS
Bald Eagle,     Eagle,         Lynx,          Snake,
Bear,                Eelpout     Marten,      Sturgeon,
Catfish,            Elk,            Mermaid,   Wolf,
Crane,              Loon,        Moose,        Woodpecker,
Rabbit,            River.
A Rabbit totem, or clan, and also a River totem, are found among the Odjibwas: but it is the belief of Little Rock that no representatives of these totems are at present living at Red Lake.
The Bald Eagle totem, and the Eagle totem, represents each, a clan altogether distinct from the other and independent of it.
The Loon clan was formerly a large one here. Mr. warren tells us concerning it that in olden times when the civil policy of the tribe was much mixed up with their religious and medicinal rites, “the totem of the Mong (Loon) ruled over them, and Musk-wa, or Bear totem, led them to war.” May-zhuck-ke-osh, former head brave of the Red Lake band, is of the Bear Totem.
The Martens, and next below them in point of numbers, the Bears, are held to be the two largest of the lake clans.
The term Mermaid stands out in such bold relief, as embodying an idea naturally foreign to an aboriginal and especially to an inland tribe of savages, that, at first, I hesitated to accept it as a correct exponent of the thing meant. However, I was assured by both Little Rock and Miss Warren, that the Odjibwa totem name under consideration is really properly translated by this word, and further, that the word signifies with the Red Lakers what it does with us; but I could get no clue to the origin of the myth thus curiously brought forward. I have since learned that these people formerly believed their lake to be haunted by mermaids.
While a red Lake Odjibwa will never name himself to a second person if he can avoid the necessity, he is always quite willing to mention his “family mark” or totem. The latter trait is prominently exhibited at the government school, where the pupils are prompt to exchange genealogical confidence with their friends, and to assert the ties of clanship as well as consanguinity.
[ My note: This, contrasted with the present 7 clans, just goes to show that tribal culture is a dynamic and changing thing! ]
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I recently came across this picture of my grandfather, Benjamin Odawa Littlecreek posing with a group of unknown men. I would like to know who they are. He traveled extensively during the winters when he wasn’t working at his Trading Post at Itaska State Park in Minnesota. He often went to other countries. He worked at Itaska from about 1947 to at least 1960 (That’s when I think I was about 5 when I saw him there). So I believe this was taken during that time period–most likely from the thin ties I would say in the fifties. At least it gives people a general period around which to look.
“Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, Incorporated” — BallClub, July 13-15, 1920
Posted in American Indian, Anishinabe, Chippewa, Culture, Genealogy, Indian Values, Minnesota, Native American, Photography, Stories, Thoughts, tagged Commentary, Culture, Essay, Family, Journal, My-life, Photography, Stories, Thoughts on March 6, 2020| 2 Comments »
I found this photo in my Grandmother’s shed. Having cleaned it out a few months after she died in 1985. “Lizzy” Elizabeth Joyce Mason is the girl with the bow in her hair on the far left. She was 14 then.
To the left of her is my Great -Grandfather, “Neogeshig”, or Thomas Jefferson Jerome Mason. You can tell from his visage that Littlecreek men received many facial characteristics from him. 🙂
He’s holding Helen C. Mason, age 2, and I believe that little boy half hiding behind his pant leg to the left of him is either his son Vilas, age 6, or son Thomas Jr., age 7.
I figured I’d better put this photograph online somewhere so others could benefit from it–since it’s been sitting on top of my dresser all these years.
I am amazed at the amount of personal family history contained in this photograph. Who are all these people???
The expression of their genes is so strong, I think I would recognize their descendants from this picture! Let me know if you know any of them.
After uploading the whole photo, I noticed that it was compressed so much that I couldn’t really identify anyone, so I’m adding enlarged sections of it above and below.
I’m guessing that the man sitting apart from the others in the front bottom row, as a place of prominence, is Benjamin Caswell. Can anyone confirm this?
Aren’t phone cameras great?
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