Seasonal Rounds

By Sam Manitowabi

The Anishinaabeg lived mobile lives, sometimes as farmers, fishers, hunters, trappers, or artisans doing activities as the seasons dictated. Researchers describe this as Seasonal Rounds. Seasonal Rounds can be described as a cyclical method of activities based on the harvesting times of plants and animals which feed, heal and are helpful to humans living in a specific place. Thus, helping humans live in harmony with the land.

This article will explore the Seasonal Rounds that the Anishinaabeg of the Huron 1850 Treaty Territory would have followed.

In the early summer after the Feast of the Dead, the Anishinabeg would travel to their summer villages, more than likely nestled along the shores and river mouths of the North Shore, Manitoulin down to Penetanguishene. Once settled into their wigwams, they would begin to organize for their productive season, including planting corn and vegetables and the harvesting of strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries. In between these activities, the youth would engage in ball games, foot races, wrestling, and hunting small game, honing their hunting skills with their bows and arrows. The boys also learned how to set nets and clean fish. As summer draws to a close and the seasons begin to change, the Anishinabek would head inland, where each family had a designated and exclusive hunting and trapping ground, and prepare for the long winter ahead. They will finish processing their foods, smoking fish, deer and moose meat, drying fruits and vegetables and moving to their interior fall and winter camps. At these camps, they will gather firewood and fix any structures and equipment necessary to help them survive the winter. Although deer, elk, moose and bear were hunted for food and trade, furbearing animals were also trapped for trade. In addition, commercial hunting provided the Anishinaabeg with the ability to purchase firearms and other manufactured items such as cotton and wool, which were highly valued. In the spring, they would decamp for the sugar bush. The isolation of winter was replaced with the friendliness of the sugar camp, where many families would come together for several weeks and cooperate in a festive atmosphere. Sugar was the main product. It was a profitable trade item valued by Anishinaabeg and traders. Once maple sugaring was complete, they loaded their canoes with sugar, furs, deer skins, pemmican, bear’s oil, deer tallow (fat) and sometimes honey and began their journey to meet up with other families at the gathering place. Anishinaabe gathered for 5 or 6 days to feast the dead. It is said that all the Anishinaabe and children would go around among the camps and greet one another, feasting and throwing food into the fire. The feast would take place at a traditional burial ground where family members who had passed on during the winter would be formally laid to rest, and memories of long-departed loved ones would be celebrated.

After the Feast of the Dead, all Anishinaabeg who wintered in the area would travel back to the shores of their summer homes and begin their seasonal rounds again.