Iron ('Merganser')

In the world of 'Merganser,' iron is an extremely rare resource, mostly controlled by the Southwestern Ojibwe (the "Chippewa," the namesakes of the English term "Ojibwe") and the Ottawa. The Border Lakes and North of Superior Ojibwe control a few of the northernmost and northeasternmost mines. A few mines in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are in Menominee territory. To clarify, the four "ethnic designations" applied to the Ojibwe are actually dialect designations in the real world, but in the world of 'Merganser,' the Border Lakes dialects are marginalized and sandwiched between the Chippewa and North of Superior dialects, meaning that a kind of ethnic designation has been attached to their linguistic identity. The Ottawa have traditionally been considered separate from the other speakers of Ojibwe dialects for a long time.

magical properties
The magical conduction of iron is even more powerful than that of copper. However, iron interferes with a person's ability to commune with spirits, and thus can only be used with certain kinds of magic.