Early explorers and priests who first met the Anishinabeg unfairly assumed that they were nomads; the reason being is that when autumn came, they travelled to the deep forests. Outsiders assumed that these groups wandered without a specific destination and followed rivers. In fact, as noted previously, they were heading to their family territories where they returned year after year. However, they would move their winter camp every few years to allow for the land to regenerate and the wildlife to reproduce. This principle is still practiced by farmers; they allow a sector of land that have been subject of intensive cultivation, time to rest before re-cultivating.