Belief of their own first existence, the name they gave themselves was An-ish-in-aub-ag. The word is derived from An-is-aw, meaning without cease, or “spontaneous” and in-aub-a-we-se, meaning the “human body.” The word An-ish-in-aub-ag, therefore literally translated signifies ”spontaneous man.” The Anishinaabe (modern day spelling and pronunciation) do not pretend, as a people, to give any reliable account of their first creation - they could not account for their beginning or their creation.
The word Ojib or Ojibway, means literally “puckered or drawn up.” Some say O-jib, “pucker up” and ubway, “to roast” when combined, translate to signify “to roast until puckered up.” The name Ojibwa describes the moccasins worn by the people. The moccasins were rounded and puckered at the toe. Some historians say the name also describes actions taken by members when destroying captures who appeared puckered up after being burned. The name has been spelled “Ojibwa” and “Ojibway”. Originally the name was mispronounced in plural form. Ojibways was easier to maintain the pronunciation than Ojibwas (was vs. ways), therefore the spelling sometimes changed.
The name Ojibwa was still mispronounced by early white settlers, who began using the name “Chippewa” which is comparatively a modern name for the Ojibwa, and is the only name under which the tribe has been designed by the government in treaties and other negotiations. However, some of the tribe have never really adopted the Chippewa name, especially our elders. Ojibway and Ojibwa were later replaced with Ojibwe.
The legal name of the White Earth Reservation today is the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. However, we refer to ourselves as Anishinaabe from the White Earth Nation.