Review of Preserving the Sacred: Historical Perspectives on Ojibwa Midewiwin By Michael Angel

• Main Author: Pettipas, Katherine
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2004
• Subjects: Other International and Area Studies; Canada; anishina*
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/728; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/greatplainsresearch/article/1729/viewcontent/Pettipas.pdf

This volume is a critical historiography of the nature and meaning of the Midewiwin as it was, and still is, practiced by southwestern, western, and northern Anishinaabeg (Ojibwa or Chippewa) in both Canada and the United States. A self-described "culturally sensitive outsider," Angel has approached his subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing heavily from religious studies and historic and ethnographic documentation. The origins and functions of the Midewiwin are examined within the contexts of Anishinaabeg religion and society. Angel takes issue with the classification of the Midewiwin as a "revitalization movement" or a "crisis cult" by demonstrating that the "essential elements" of the Midewiwin were elaborations of traditional beliefs and practices. He argues that the roles of traditional healers, diviners, and healing ceremonies became more "complex" as the Anishinaabeg struggled with new challenges to their world following contact with European newcomers.