Men's and Women's Clothing

OJIBWE

Women made and decorated all the clothing their families wore. They made the clothing from soft animal hides and fur and used animal sinew to stitch the garments together. Women and girls decorated the finished items with porcupine quills and beads made of shell, bone, or stone.

HEADWEAR

Both men and women wore their hair long. Women usually pulled theirs into a low ponytail. For special occasions, they divided their hair into two braids near their ears. Most men wore their hair lose or in two braids. For special occasions or for battle, some men wore headpieces, called roaches, down the center of their heads. Roaches were made of deer fur or porcupine quills. In cool weather, people often wore fur caps or wrapped strips of deer skins around their heads.

REGALIA

Besides their everyday clothing, the Ojibwe wore and carried special belts, bags, weapons, and tools, known as regalia. These items were made of wood, shells, feathers, horns, bone, and other natural materials. People made regalia for themselves or received regalia items as special gifts when they did good deeds or behaved bravely.

MOCCASINS

bead work

The Ojibwe were very artistic and used bead-like material found in nature to decorate their clothing. The bead work design used by the Ojibwe reflected the environment in which they lived--the wooded northlands. The varying landscape of the northwoods included rolling hills, flowers, trees, lakes and rivers. As a result, the bead work pattern that is characteristic to the Ojibwe is floral. See the examples below and notice how there are flowing and swirling beadwork designs decorating their clothing and other garments.

Additional Resources

Sources

Kalman, B., & Walker, N. (2003). Life In An Anishinabe Camp. New York: Crabtree Pub.

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