In the 16th century the Anishinaabe lived on the shores of the Great Salt Water in the east. Here it was, that while congregated in a great town, and while they were suffering the ravages of sickness and death, they were led to the west in company with the related Ottawa and Potawatomi. The three tribes separated at what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, the Anishinaabe spreading westward along both shores of Lake Superior. The entire travel to La Pointe took approximately forty years; here the Anishinaabe stayed for one-hundred and twenty years.
The Anishinaabe’s trip from the East Coast was considered by some to be a religious experience. Here is a story as told by one historian:
“While our forefathers were living on the great salt water toward the rising sun, the great Megis (sea-shell) showed itself above the surface of the great water, and the rays of the sun for a long period were reflected from its glossy back. It gave warmth and light to the Anishinaabe. All at once it sank into the deep and for a time our ancestors were not blessed with its light. It rose to the surface and appeared again on the great river which drains the waters of the Great Lakes, and again for a long time it gave life to our forefathers, and reflected back the rays of the sun. Again it disappeared from sight and it rose, till it appeared to the eyes of the Anishinaabe on the shores of the first Great Lake. Again it sank from sign, and death daily visited the wigwams of our forefathers, till it showed its back, and reflected the rays of the sun once more at Bow-e-ting (Sault Ste. Marie). Here it remained for a long time, but once more, and for the last time, it disappeared, and the Anishinaabe was left in the darkness and misery, till it floated and once more showed its bright back at Mo-ning-wun-a-kaun-ing (La Pointe Island), where it was ever since reflected back the rays of the sun, and blessed our ancestors with life, light and wisdom. Its rays reach the remotest village of the wide spread Ojibwa.”
There are other similar stories, one of which states the great Megis was last seen at Fond du Lac, or end of Lake Superior. The tribe has experienced many divisions into different bands throughout their travels. Those who moved into what is now Minnesota, met the Dakota or Sioux tribe.