The document describes several traditional games played by the Ojibwa people, including: 1) The Moccasin Game, a gambling game where players hid bullets under moccasins and guessed their locations, betting on the outcomes. 2) Butterfly Hide and Seek, a quiet game where children hid from a seeker without disturbing butterflies. 3) Sep, a "bedtime story" game where a singer alternated songs with periods of silence, eliminating players who made noises to help the children fall asleep. 4) Lacrosse, a physical team sport played with poles and nets to toss a ball, resembling a warrior training activity.

1. Ojibwa
Games and sports
Games
Moccasin Game
This game was played by hiding four bullets under four moccasins. One of the bullets were
marked. "Striking sticks," made of oak were used to "make guesses". Twenty counting sticks,
made of ironwood, were also used. Four men (two sets of partners) usually play, but sometimes
more played. One partner hid the bullets while the other partner sang and pounded a drum while
one of the opponent partners guessed the location of the marked bullet.
There are numerous variants of the game. For example, the Potawatomi used just one bullet with
four moccasins.
Onlookers place wagers on their choice of partners. It is said that much of the government
annuities were redistributed by gambling on this game. The game had such great popularity with
the early white settlers in Indiana that the government outlawed the game (and similar games) and
placed strict fines on anyone caught playing it.
Butterfly Hide and Seek

2. Butterfly Hide and Seek was a quiet game. Children were taught never to hurt a
butterfly. To the Ojibwa people, it was considered a gift of good luck if you stayed so
quiet that a butterfly would trust you and land on you.
Little girls played the butterfly game. One girl covered her eyes and sang a song.
"Butterfly, butterfly, show me where to go." All the other little girls would quickly
and quietly hide. The singer had to find them without saying another word. It was a
game of skill. If you were observant, you could tell where people were hiding by the
marks they left as they moved around.
Sep
Sep was a fall asleep game, rather like a funny bedtime story, with a prize. After a good meal at night, it was time
for the kids to quiet down. Sometimes the kids were so wound from the activities of the day that they could not fall
asleep easily. When that happened one of the elders might say, "Let's play Sep!"
Sep was a silly game that everyone loved. It worked like this - someone would sing a song with very funny words.
Without warning, the singer would suddenly stop singing and say, "Sep!" Everyone had to be very quiet until one of
the adults picked up the song again. Any child who made a sound during Sep - the quiet period - was out of the
game. There was a prize for the person who stayed in the game the longest. During the quiet times, the children
would fall asleep. Then the parents and adults could talk. In the morning, the game was completed, and the prize
awarded.
Sep could be played quietly in one wigwam, or could be played with the occupants of many wigwams at once.
Because the wigwams were in a circle around a central open area, when the wigwam flaps were open, everyone
could hear the silly songs, just as they could hear the night messages.
The Singer

3. One player of each team wad the
Lacrosse
Lacrosse was played with two poles. At the end of each pole was a piece of net,
shaped like a basket.

4. The object of the game was to toss a ball back and forth and catch it in the basket at
the end of your pole.
Although you could not touch the ball with anything except your net, you could use
your pole to hit another player. You could trip players.
Lacrosse was a rough game. It was a warrior's game. It was also a national game.
Village played village, while onlookers cheered for their favorite teams and booed the
opponents.