Editing Anishinaabe traditional beliefs (section)

== Importance of storytelling ==
Storytelling is one of the most important aspects of Anishinaabe life. Many Anishinaabe people believe that stories create worlds,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Simpson|first=Leanne B.|title=A Short History of the Blockade|publisher=University of Alberta Press|year=2021|isbn=9781772125382|location=Edmonton, Alberta, Canada|pages=|language=English}}</ref> are an essential part of generational connection by way of teaching and listening,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Iseke|first=Judy|date=1 November 2013|title=Indigenous Storytelling as Research|journal=International Review of Qualitative Research|volume=6|issue=4|pages=559–577|doi=10.1525/irqr.2013.6.4.559|s2cid=144222653|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1525/irqr.2013.6.4.559|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and facilitate connection with the nonhuman, natural world.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Whyte|first=Kyle Powys|date=January 2017|title=Our Ancestors' Dystopia Now|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296526052|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Keeler|first=Kyle|date=9 August 2021|title=Before colonization (BC) and after decolonization (AD): The Early Anthropocene, the Biblical Fall, and relational pasts, presents, and futures|journal=Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space|volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=1341–1360 |doi=10.1177/25148486211033087|s2cid=238671275|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/25148486211033087|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Oral storytelling is often considered unimportant in settler colonial society; however, this form of communication, connection, and teaching has been used for centuries, and is still used to pass down Anishinaabe traditional beliefs through generations.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Verbos|first1=Amy Klemm|last2=Humphries|first2=Maria|date=9 July 2013|title=A Native American Relational Ethic: An Indigenous Perspective on Teaching Human Responsibility|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1790-3|journal=Journal of Business Ethics|volume=123|pages=1–9|doi=10.1007/s10551-013-1790-3|s2cid=143379265|via=University of Oregon Library}}</ref>

[[File:Pf026012.jpg|thumb|right|''Ojibwawomen in a canoe'' at  Leech Lake [[Minnesota]]  in 1909]]
Storytelling is often used to teach life lessons<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Simpson|first=Leanne B.|date=21 November 2014|title=Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation|url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/22170|journal=Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society|volume=3|via=University of Toronto Libraries}}</ref> relating to traditional and current beliefs. In Anishinaabe traditional stories, Nanabush, Amik (beaver), and Nokomis (grandmother figure) are important characters.<ref name=":0" /> Anishinaabe stories feature activities and actions involving generation, an important concept among Anishinaabe peoples such as participating in ceremonies, experimenting with new ideas and people, and reflecting on the outcome of events.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Simpson|first=Leanne B.|title=As We Have Always Done|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|date=17 October 2017|isbn=978-1-5179-0387-9|location=Minnesota|pages=29|language=English}}</ref> Nanabush stories carry the message to young Indigenous peoples that it is okay to make mistakes, and that things are not always black and white.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Simpson|first=Leanne B.|title=Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence And A New Emergence|publisher=Arbeiter Ring Publishing|year=2011|isbn=978-1-894037-50-1|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|pages=74|language=English}}</ref> This is different from many settler colonial narratives which usually clearly define story characters as good or bad.<ref>{{Cite book|last=King|first=Thomas|title=The Truth About Stories|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|date=13 June 2008|isbn=978-0-8166-4627-2|location=Minnesota|pages=24|language=English}}</ref>

Amik (beaver) is a being in traditional Anishinaabe stories that creates shared worlds.<ref name=":0" /> The stories of Amik’s creations and how Amik teaches their child about the world serves to provide a greater understanding of relationships and what is important in life. Nokomis (grandmother) is another being from Anishinaabe folklore. Nokomis and Nanabush stories are usually utilized to teach about important life lessons.<ref name=":0" />

Generational storytelling creates a bond between tribal elders and younger Indigenous people.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Gallagher|first=Marlene|date=2013|title=Anishinaabe Elders Share Stories On their Perceptions about Anishinaabe Identity for School Success|url=https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/handle/1993/22149/GallagherM-Thesis_aug21_2013.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Elders are known as "knowledge keepers"<ref name=":1" /> and are highly respected for their knowledge about stories, language, and history.<ref name=":1" /> Teaching through storytelling and learning to listen and understand requires a strong connection between the storyteller and the ones hearing the story. In this way, storytelling connects generations of Anishinaabe people. 

===Nanabozho stories===
{{Main article|Nanabozho}}

'''[[Nanabozho]]''' (also known by a variety of other names and spellings, including ''Wenabozho'', ''Menabozho'', and ''Nanabush'') is a [[trickster]] figure and [[culture hero]] who features as the protagonist of a cycle of stories that serve as the [[Anishinaabe]] origin belief. The cycle, which varies somewhat from community to community, tells the story of Nanabozho's conception, birth, and his ensuing adventures, which involve interactions with [[Manitou|spirit]] and animal beings, the creation of the Earth, and the establishment of the [[Midewiwin]].  The myth cycle explains the origin of several traditions, including [[mourning]] customs, beliefs about the [[afterlife]], and the creation of the sacred plant {{lang|oj-latn|asemaa}} ([[tobacco]]).

===Other stories===
* [[Aayaase]] (also known as "Aayaash" or "Iyash")
* [[Nokomis]]
* [[Shingebiss]]