One of the most significant responsibilities an Ottawa must fulfill is to behave in ways that honour the pimadazin, the "good, healthy, and moral collective life." In order to do this, the seven ways of the Ottawa must be sustained: purity in mind, purity in heart, purity in body, humility, honesty, love, and respect.

Vision quests are often referred to as "going up on the hill." It is a ritual practiced to create a link with the manitous, or spirit powers. The vision quest is held at an out-of-the-way place significant to the person. Before one goes on a vision quest, one must already be upholding the seven ways of the Ottawa. Traditionally, vision quests were performed as a rite of passage for adolescent boys. Today, people of various ages and both genders engage in this spiritual custom.

All Ottawas are given three things to guide them through life: totem, manitou, and Midewiwin. The totem is a powerful animal form that represents one's clan. Each individual is a descendent of their totem. Examples of totems include the Crane, Turtle, Otter, and Bear.

The manitou often relates to spirit. Each native pursues contact with manitous during vision quests and other rituals or ceremonies. The manitou is meant to provide guidance to the person on a vision quest and then stay with them throughout life. Ki-je Manitou, or the great power, is the supreme manitou, responsible for all creation.

"Midewewin," translated loosely, could mean "the society of good-hearted ones." The Midewewin is a secret society of medicine men and women. Members of the society hold rituals and make special vision quests to contact, or commune with, the manitous. Their experiences are then shared with the rest of the community. This knowledge is extremely valuable as it is used to keep the tribe's members healthy and safe.

Gi-be wiikonge is a traditional ceremonial practice that took place in the spring and early summer. If someone died in the winter, the ground was often too hard for a proper burial. Instead, tribe members would wrap the corpse and place it in a shallow grave, or up on a tree platform. In the spring, when band members returned to their summer dwellings, the leader would call a gi-be wiikonge. All those who lost a loved one during the winter retrieved the corpses. The women would prepare the bodies for interment. The others would dig deep pits where the ceremony was to take place. The hole would be large enough to house all the bodies and accommodate the mourners. Copious amounts of food would be brought down into the pit where everyone feasted until sunrise. All through the night food and tobacco burned as an offering to the spirits who were present. At the end of the gi-be wiikonge, the natives would fill the pit and no longer talk of the dead.

Today, the traditional Feast of the Dead can be seen in the Ghost Supper, a yearly ritual to nourish the souls of the deceased. The event takes place around and on All Saints' Day. Relatives and close friends of the deceased are expected to attend. It is thought that a greater number of living guests yields a greater number of spirit guests. The host will prepare the spirits' favourite foods and place it on the table along with other offerings such as tobacco. A sacred fire is built. Food is burned as an offering to any visiting spirits. The supper is to be festive and not mournful. Guests are to eat all the food before them. No food is thrown out; any leftovers are burned as offerings. At the end of the evening, the host usually lays out a single place setting for any guest who may arrive in the middle of the night.