Regional names and their meanings, plus a recipe!

Anishnaube-akii (the land of the Anishnaube) is a broad and vast territory, which at one time spanned most of the Great Lakes, out onto the prairies, and east into Quebec. With such regional diversity, the Anishnaube had two things going on;

First, was a vast variety of food.

Secondly, they had a lot of places to name!

With such a vast territory, the Anishnaube had many titles for rivers, lakes, hills and so-forth. Many of these had something to do with food, whether directly (Tullibee River), or indirectly (where to gather hunting or gathering materials). This is not just found amongst my people, as my good friend Mark pointed out to me that in his region of Alberta, the local river was called the Bow River, because the local nations would travel down it to harvest the proper woods for bows, as well as arrows and baskets (the red osier dogwood of the region was apparently superb). With this being said, I would like to cover a few of my region, which happens to be the ancestral territory of the Missisauga, who are my direct ancestors.

I live on Rice Lake, in Central Ontario. Many people assume the name of Rice Lake would be translated into "Lake of Wild Rice". No brainer, huh? However, the Missisauga people called it Pemedashkotayang, Lake of the Burning Plains. This was due to a vast Black Oak Savannah and Tallgrass Prairie ecosystem spanning much of the lake. The Haudenasaunae People, most likely members of the Mohawk People, had a well established agricultural society based on the southern shore of Rice Lake, and frequently burned back the grasses to encourage the growth of succulent plants, which would in turn encourage the deer and other critters out into the open to be hunted by bow, atlatl, sling and many other hunting devices. So an entire lake was named after an action that was performed to access food sources.

The river closest to my house is the Otonabee. I've heard many theories as to what it may mean, until I just finally looked it up. Ottanabeezibi was the original name of the river, and was translated as follows;

Ottanabee = Tullibee (Coregonus artedi), a type of fish, often called a Chub, Lake Herring, or Northern Cisco. I like the name Tullibee, as it is the only name that does not seem to be argued about.

Zibi = River, a type of body of water that moves with the gravitational... okay maybe I don't need to explain what a river is.

So the Otonabee River, is perfectly translated as the Tullibee River. Makes you wonder how important tullibee was to the Missisauga People, huh? Well, being a member of the Whitefish family, tullibee were extremely important. Their spawning and numbers allowed the Missisauga and other Anishnaube nations the chance to harvest a large amount of fish meat (high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and many other nutrients). This ability to harvest a big yield of protein with simple devices (basket traps, nets, spears, weirs, etc), granted the Anishnaube the chance to secure their lives for at least a couple of months. This gave them more time to focus on other food gathering subjects, community activities, and the collection of other resources, or repairing of tools.

It also granted them the chance to expand their culture, religion and society. Fishing has been connected with the Woodland Period of North America for a great many years. This is because of a higher yield of artefacts that pertain to fishing (bone harpoons, fish bones in midden piles, old weirs found under certain lakes, etc). Notice how suddenly our cultures began to drift more into agriculture, bows rather than atlatls, and much more advanced technology with a simple change in diet? Fishing was more successful than big game hunting, and often the yield was much more rewarding.

Along with the fish, other things would be caught in the traps, such as snapping turtles and eels. While out seeking fish, waterfowl like ducks and herons could be shot at in opportunistic fashion. While scanning the waters for panfish, young men would often come across freshwater mussells, as well as crawyfish and bullfrogs. While gathering such things such as fish, and shellfish, plant sources such as Water plantain, Arrowhead, and cattail would also be gathered as food sources. Sweet Gale would also be harvested for seasoning.

All with just adding fish to the diet, the Anishnaube people were able to advance their society. They had more time to expand their hunting arsenal, as well as delve deeper into their spiritual world.

Oh, and because I know you are wondering.. Tullibee is freakin' delicious. A very sweet fish meat. Here is an out of season recipe, as I often catch Tullibee in April, which happens to be the Whitefish Moon.


Roasted Tullibee

Need:

-Fire that has died down to hot coals
-Basswood bark strips
-Basswood leaves and/or burdock leaves

Ingredients:

-Gutted tullibee
-1/4 cup of garlic mustard (diced)
-Three wild leeks (diced)
-Two tablespoons of birch sap


1) Mix all ingredients other than the tullibee
2) Stuff into body cavity of tullibee
3) Wrap up in two layers of leaves
4) Bind shut with basswood bark strips
5) Place on coals and bake/roast for about 5-8 minutes
6) Flip and roast on other side for another 5 minutes
7) Open up and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy my personal experiment. If you feel like joining along, let me know your results, research or anything else in the comments section. Please feel free to subscribe!

Baamaapii,

Caleb Wazhusk