The Saulteaux, also known as the Plains Ojibway (Nahkawininiwak in their own language), speak a language that is part of the Algonquian language family. Algonquian-speaking people are spread from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains, and from Hudson Bay to the southeastern United States. The Algonquian languages include Algonkin, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, Delaware, Menominee, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk/Fox, and Nahkawiwin (Saulteaux).

The name Saulteaux is derived from the French word “saulteurs,” meaning People of the Rapids, which refers to the area around the St. Mary’s River (Sault Ste. Marie) where French fur traders and the Ojibwa traded in the late 17th century. Some storytellers share a migration story that predates European contact, describing the people’s westward movement where they established alliances with their neighbors, the Lakota and Dakota, ensuring peaceful coexistence. These alliances were disrupted during the fur trade rivalry between the French and English.

As the fur trade declined, bison disappeared, and European settlers increased, the Nahkawininiwak and other plains First Nations began negotiating treaties with Canada’s new government. Nahkawininiwak leaders signed Treaties 1 and 2 for their bands and later became signatories to Treaties 4 and 6 in 1874 and 1876. These treaties handed over a large portion of southern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, and parts of Alberta to Canada in exchange for annuities ($3-$5 per person annually), reserves, education, and rights to hunt, fish, and trap.

In Saskatchewan, Nahkawininiwak speakers live in communities such as Cote, Cowessess, Fishing Lake, Gordons, Keeseekoose, Key, Muskowpetung, Nut Lake, Pasqua, Poorman, Sakimay, Saulteaux, and Yellowquill. Additionally, communities like Cowessess, Gordons, White Bear, and Keeseekoose have a mix of Nahkawininiwak, Nêhiyawêwin, and other languages.

There is a movement to embrace the original name Anishinabe, which is what the Ojibway called themselves in earlier times. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Nahkawininiwak ceremonies and traditional beliefs were prohibited by law. However, in the 21st century, some of these ceremonies are being revived, belief systems like Midewiwiwin are being reintroduced, and some Nahkawininiwak have adopted Plains ceremonies such as the Sun Dance.