Traditional Government
Oral history recorded by elders in the 1990s says that in traditional Pimicikamak government the people were warmed by four fires. These were Kiseyak Otabiwinik (where the Elders sit), Iskweyanak (the women), Opimbatawuk (the runners, or youth) and Okaniskoteyawuk (the hunters & warriors; lit., the keepers of the gate). The first two of these continued through the 20th century. The Council of Elders may have been based on Midewiwin society practices introduced hundreds of years ago from neighbouring Ojibwa (known to themselves as the Anishinaabeg). Oral history from the Elders provided the continuing source of Pimicikamak temporal or customary law. The Women's Council governed family and community life during winter dispersal and summer gatherings.
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