Ojibwe History
Experience the Native-American oral tradition. Eddie Benton-Benai shares the legacy of his people, speaking of many prophecies, including one that led Ojibwe from the East Coast to Wisconsin and what they would find. 30 minutes
buy DVD

View streaming video clips with RealPlayer.

Oral History (10:34)
Anishinnaabe oral history stands as time immemorial. It is the "felt truth of history." The key to Ojibwe history, says Eddie Benton-Benai, is knowing the Ojibwe language. Benton-Benai explains the importance of language in the Ojibwe education system. The Ojibwe must reclaim lost history and values that had been born of more than 50,000 years.

The Seven Prophesies (10:40)
The Ojibwe are part of the Algonquin spiritual federacy. This paradigm states that what is done in a lifetime has to reflect seven generations into the future. That is an anathema to the dominant society, Benton-Benai says, asserting that European-Americans and Ojibwe have been together for 500 years, but still don't understand what makes up the value system of the other.

The Great Migration (6:47)
A discussion of the interlinking of prophesies and actual movement of people—immigration from the East Coast to find "food that grows on water," wild rice, ending near Duluth, Minn.; settlement on Madeline Island, the spiritual center for the culture; and the coming of missionaries to the island that led to another migration, a fleeing, from the island.

Spiritual History/Future of Peace (6:16)
A concluding series of thoughts about Wisconsin's secret, sacred places and the spirits that inhabit this part of the world. Benton-Benai expounds on a final offer of sharing prophesies and promoting and preserving the future of humanity.