Using the Land

Using the Land. . , Before and after contact with the Europeans, the northern Anishnaabek utilized the land in a seasonal pattern. They viewed the land as a common resource to be shared amongst a band or clan. Occasionally Anishnaabek bands fought together to drive out other tribes, such as the Iroquois of New York, who sought to claim their lands., The northern Anishnaabek were primarily fishermen, although they did also hunt for subsistence. Every summer, bands gathered near the Straits of Mackinac and other shorelines. Men and women used spears, hooks, and nets to catch fish, which women cleaned and preserved while also picking berries and gathering other foods., In the autumn, the men switched to nets to catch whitefish and lake trout. As winter approached, the fishing village broke up into smaller family groups who headed inland to hunt. In springtime, the family might pause at a maple sugaring camp to tap the trees before returning to the shoreline to start fishing again.