Anishinaabe
/ˌæn.ɪ.ʃɪˈnɑː.beɪ/noun
A member of a group of Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region, especially the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Algonquin peoples.
Did you know?Anishinaabe is a self-designation used by several related Indigenous peoples, and its exact deeper etymology is discussed differently in scholarship and tradition, so it is best treated as a living ethnonym rather than a simple word puzzle.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact / Traditional usage
Anishinaabemowin
Anishinaabe
“A self-name used by related Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region.”
17th–18th Century
French
Outaouais / Sauteurs / Chippeways
“French colonial names applied to different Anishinaabe peoples and communities.”
18th–19th Century
English
Chippewa / Ojibwe
“English forms borrowed through French and neighboring languages for specific Anishinaabe groups.”
20th Century
English
Anishinaabe
“The self-chosen collective name increasingly used in English-language writing and speech.”
Modern English
English
Anishinaabe
“The contemporary English form of the Indigenous ethnonym, used respectfully in reference to the people and language.”