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Religious and Ceremonial Life

Religion was primarily an individual matter for Woodland Indian people, and one that permeated everyday life.

The world of the Great Lakes Indians was filled with a host of spirits (manido; plural manidog), which inhabited trees, plants, birds, and animals. Cosmic phenomena were also considered spirits, including the sun, the moon, thunder, lightning, the four winds, and the thunderbirds.

The Tarahumara Collection

The Milwaukee Public Museum has one of the largest Tarahumara collections in the United States.

Comprising 376 items, the majority of the items were collected during the 1930s –- a time when European trends were just beginning to affect Tarahumara material culture. An exhibit in the Museum located on the third floor within the Middle America exhibit displays only a small amount of the total collection. This section provides a more comprehensive view of the Milwaukee Public Museum pieces.

Maple Sugar

One day, Wenebojo was standing under a maple tree.

Suddenly, it began to rain maple syrup, not sap, right on top of him. Wenebojo got a birchbark tray and held it out to catch the syrup. He said to himself, “This is too easy for the Indians to have the syrup just rain down like this.” So he threw the syrup away and decided that before they could have the syrup, the Indians would have to give a feast, offer tobacco, speak to the manido, and put out some birchbark trays.