Future of the Society

 Native American Nations | The Midē Wiwin or Grand Medicine Society                  

According to a treaty now being made between the United States Government and the Ojibwa Indians, the latter are to relinquish the several areas of land at present occupied by them and to remove to portions of the Red Lake and White Earth Reservations and take lands in severalty. By this treaty about 4,000,000 acres of land will be ceded to the Government, and the members of the various bands will become citizens of the United States, and thus their tribal ties will be broken and their primitive customs and rites be abandoned.

The chief Midē´ priests, being aware of the momentous consequences of such a change in their habits, and foreseeing the impracticability of much longer continuing the ceremonies of so-called “pagan rites,” became willing to impart them to me, in order that a complete description might be made and preserved for the future information of their descendants.

There is scarcely any doubt that these ceremonies will still be secretly held at irregular intervals; but under the watchful care of the national authorities it is doubtful whether they will be performed with any degree of completeness, and it will be but a comparatively short time before the Midē´wiwin will be only a tradition.

This site includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied.

The Midē Wiwin or Grand Medicine Society, 1891

The Midē Wiwin or Grand Medicine Society