The word Ojibwe comes from the name
the Ojibwe's long-time enemies gave them. It means "to roast until
puckered." It is refering to the way the Ojibwe made their moccasins.
Other names the Ojibwe had were the Ashinabe, which means "original or
spontaneous people." They called themselves this during their 500-year
migration.
The French explorers called them the Saulteur, which means"people of the rapids." The called them this because they first spotted the Ojibwe near the rapids of the St. Mary's River.
Photo credit: Chippewa Valley Museum