In the first half of the twentieth century, the Ojibwa (Chippewa) people of the western Great Lakes region still retained many of their traditional tribal ways of life, ways of life which included a wealth of ingenious and clever crafts based upon their understanding and use of natural local materials. With few tools but a long history, skilled artisans created the everyday articles needed for shelter, food preparation, clothing, and ceremonials; they also found time to make decorative items for exchange at trading posts or for sale to tourists who passed through their lands.-Print ed.