Episode Two

Gwayakochigewin – “Making Decisions the Right Way”

“The government of the people is the people. That is where the power is, with the people. And the leaders of the people are not all in government. They are all over.”
--Winona LaDuke, White Earth Ojibwe

Traditional decision making in Anishinaabe-Ojibwe communities is based on the role of the individual in the family, in the community, in the clan, and in relationship to the Creator. This decision-making process involves oratory in the Ojibwe language and discussion to reach consensus. Leaders come in many forms, but are each characterized by talents and gifts bestowed on them from the Creator. Warriors and Elders are highly regarded for their leadership roles. European contact and the Fur Trade seriously fractured traditional forms of Ojibwe leadership and governance, upsetting traditional clan structures, leadership roles, and egalitarian methods of decision-making.

Episode Two: Gwayakochigewin – “Making Decisions the Right Way” journeys from pre-European contact to contemporary times, portraying the essence of traditional Ojibwe decision-making. Historical Ojibwe chiefs are profiled alongside contemporary Ojibwe leaders. This program traces Ojibwe beginnings as sovereign, independent bands led by councils of headmen, elders, and spiritual leaders; through the United State’s paternalistic era of government guardianship; to today’s reestablishment of self-determination. Historical hereditary chiefs and today’s tribal government leaders have successfully maintained the unique status of Ojibwe tribes as sovereign nations within a nation.

Today’s leaders and tribal governments come in many forms, but all share in common the responsibilities of decision-making and of doing things the right way for the good of all Ojibwe people