Many societies have their own creation legends, but according to the Anishinabeg this is how the world was created: At the beginning, animals were masters of the world and all lived in harmony. But an event occurred and the animals began to fight against each other. This angered the Creator, Kichi Manito, who decided to flood the earth into a rebirth. Following the flood, the Earth almost virtually disappeared. There was only one group left.

Renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar and artist, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson talks about the philosophy and ethics that undergird Anishnaabe worlds in her 2020 Kreisel Lecture entitled, A Short History of the Blockade: Giant Beavers, Diplomacy and Regeneration in Nishnaabewin.