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CHAPTER VII 
THE GRAND MEDICINE SOCIETY 
About a hundred years ago some Potawatomi Indians from the United 
States settled on Christian island in Georgian bay, and fifty years later 
a few families moved farther north to Parry island. At that time the 
Grand Medicine Society or midewiwin was unknown on the latter island, 
and the present natives at least have no tradition that it ever existed in 
their district. Some of the Potawatomi, however, who had joined the 
society farther south, set up a medicine lodge and held one or more 
performances, a description of which I owe to two survivors, Jonas King 
and Tom King. These men have taught their children some of the ancient 
lore of the Grand Medicine Society, particularly the plant medicines, 
although they know that the society is extinct in Georgian bay and that 
their children will never join it and become genuine mede. 
The following legend purports to give the origin of the society: 
ORIGIN LEGEND 
Wolf, the brother of Nenibush , 1 was so skilful a hunter, and killed so much 
game, that the manidos became angry and plotted to destroy him. Now it happened 
that Wolf was camping with Nenibush and his grandmother Nokomis, “ Earth ” on 
the edge of a frozen lake. Every morning Nenibush would go outside his wigwam 
and discover the track of some animal that had passed during the night; Wolf 
would then pursue it and towards evening bring the carcass back to camp. Now 
Nenibush , knowing that the manidos were plotting his brother's death, warned him 
never to cross the lake, however late at night he might be returning. Early one 
morning, however, the manidos sent an exceedingly fleet-footed caribou past their 
camp. Nenibush told Wolf, who pursued and killed it after a very long chase. It 
was then so late in the evening that Wolf decided to leave the carcass until the 
next day and to return to camp across the ice; but the ice broke when he was 
half-way across the lake and he drowned. 
Nenibush, waiting in vain for his brother, realized at last what had happened. 
He lay on the ground, covered his head with his blanket, and wept for four days 
and four nights. All the birds and animals from the sky, and all the birds and 
animals from the water, came to comfort him, but without avail. At last they said 
‘Wolf had better return.’ So on the fourth day Wolf came out of the water and 
approached his brother’s camp. But as he drew near Nenibush called ‘ Do not enter 
the camp. You must go far away and preside over the dead in the west.* So now 
Wolf rules the dead in the far-away land of the west. 
Still Nenibush refused to rise from the ground. At last there approached him 
beings called mede manido, mede spirits, who set up wooden images of human beings, 
four in a row. While one spirit drummed, the others danced in front of the images, 
wearing in their belts bags of muskrat and other skins, Nenibush looked up at the 
sound of their singing and dancing, and the sight pleased him. He rose to his feet, 
and offered one of the dancers a skibdagan or medicine-bag made of skin. The spirits 
then disappeared, saying to one another ‘What will Nenibush do now’? They 
covered the sky with dark clouds so that Nenibush, looking up, saw all the portents 
of a heavy rainstorm. He said to Nokomis, his grandmother, ‘ Those things are 
1 The spellings Nenibush and Nanibush represent the pronunciations of different informants 
