Saulteaux

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July 13, 2026

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The Saulteaux are an Algonquian-speaking Indigenous North American people. Historically, they lived in the areas around Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The term "Saulteaux" is specifically used in Canada to refer to Ojibwe people living west of Lake Winnipeg.12

Traditionally, Saulteaux bands were divided into family units for hunting in the autumn and reunited in the summer for fishing. They relied heavily on wild rice for sustenance, and some bands also cultivated corn. Birch bark was a crucial material for making canoes, wigwams, and utensils. Clan intermarriage helped connect the people, as there were no overarching tribal chiefs. The Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society, was a significant ceremonial organization for both men and women, believed to provide supernatural assistance.2

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Ojibwe
…Lake Winnipeg are called the Saulteaux. When first reported in the Relations of 1640, an annual report by the Jesuit missionaries in New France, the Ojibwe occupied a comparatively restricted region near the St. Mary’s River and in the Upper Peninsula of the present state of Michigan; they moved west…
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…Lake Winnipeg are called the Saulteaux. When first reported in the Relations of 1640, an annual report by the Jesuit missionaries in New France, the Ojibwe occupied a comparatively restricted region near the St. Mary’s River and in the Upper Peninsula of the present state of Michigan; they moved west…
Read More