Chrysostom Verwyst wrote this book about the Ojibwe names and language. He was a Catholic missionary but lived among the Ojibwe people for many years. The definitions of certain terms from the Ojibwe language reveals certain beliefs they had, customs or rituals, and events. Their language reveals a lot about their culture such as how it was based on a hunting lifestyle. The hunting lifestyle of Native Americans relates to the theme of how this lifestyle conflicted with the agricultural lifestyle.