What it Means to be a Chippewa

You see this phrase on clothing and hear it announced at sporting events.

Chippewas is so much more than a tagline or athletics nickname.

The Chippewa, also known as the Ojibway or Ojibwe (said to mean the puckered moccasin people), live mainly in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Ontario. They speak a form of the Algonquian language and are closely related to the Ottawa and Potawatomi.

When you move to Mount Pleasant, your community neighbor will be the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Learning about another culture will help you to know which values and customs are important to that culture and how to properly respect those traditions.

This is why all our students and community members are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities that we and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe offer to help them learn more about the traditions, cultures, heritage and wisdom of the Indigenous people of this area.

This site is your first such opportunity.​