by Biidaabanikwe (Kim Anderson) and Amy Myszko
November 1, 2023
Ayaanikeshkaagewaad, the Niibi Center’s innovative, nature-based Ojibwe language immersion training program, is working to reclaim the Ojibwe language through a series of in-person and online Zoom sessions. The language reclamation work is led by our Language Program Director Biidaabanikwe (Kim Anderson), a White Earth enrolled member, Azhoobines (John Daniel), a Leech Lake enrolled member, and Waase (Monique Paulson), a White Earth descendant, all second language scholars. Funding from the Blandin Foundation, the Equation Foundation, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC), and most recently the competitive NDN Collective grant program have supported our reclamation efforts over the past two years.
Last spring our teacher trainees and families gathered in Naytahwaush for Iskigamizigewin (sugar bush) to hear the Aadizookaan (traditional stories) about sugar bush, feast the maple trees and tap our beautiful tree relatives. One of the main goals of Ayaanikeshkaagewaad is to provide a container for families to practice using the language on the land by participating in traditional Anishinaabe activities, as well as to train teachers in immersion teaching practices.
The trainees, parents and children enjoyed practicing vocabulary and phrases while they experienced using the traditional tools to tap trees. Due to our long, cold winter withhigh snow pack, they utilized snowshoes to break trails and identify the ininaatigoog (maple trees). All of the children
were thoughtfully guided on how to tap a tree using the language and through phase repetition. In this way learning the language is becoming an integral part of experiencing traditional practices like iskigamizigewin for our teacher trainees and their families.
Later on in the season the families gathered again to experience collecting and boiling down sap, what fun! The children and parents also enjoyed participating in a scavenger hunt and finally packing up sugaring supplies to end the sugaring season. A follow-up session was held on zoom
to practice new phrases and vocabulary used in the sugarbush, since repetition is one important key to language learning.
A grant from the Equation foundation was used to record and interview first language speakers to be
used for future language activities as well as collect phrases and vocabulary for ongoing immersion practices. First language speakers from Red Lake, Inger, and First Nations in Canada all contributed to the project. Preserving language is a crucial aspect of both healing and thriving for Indigenous people and we are grateful to be able to preserve this wisdom for future generations.
Funding from NDN Collective was recently awarded to establish a second cohort of teacher
trainees. Two White Earth enrolled members along with two WE descendants have been selected as part of the project and have participated in oral proficien-cy assessments. The trainees have been participating in weekly Zoom sessions where they work on gram-mar and have had an in-person session centered on ricing vocabulary and phrases. After a year of training, each trainee will select and work with a family to support their immersion in the Ojibwe language. As our program grows, so too does the language capacity here on White Earth, something that is worth acknowledgement and celebration
Originally published in the November 2023 edition of the Anishinaabeg Today (vol. 28, no. 10) on pg. 2 https://whiteearth.com/assets/files/newspaper/2023/November%201,%202023%20c.pdf
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