The Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) and Indigenous Language Partnership has funded 19 projects on Anishinaabemowin across the Great Lakes Region. A map of the different partners can be found further below on the page.
Completed Projects
Bad River Tribe – Interactive Language Tables
The Bad River Tribe of Lake Superior Chippewa held two events to promote the transmission of both linguistic and cultural knowledge within the community. The first was a workshop on snaring for language trainees, including snare-making and setting. The second was a workshop on traditional storytelling elements, in which Aadizookaanan (stories) were shared.
Bay Mills Community College – Bay Mills Anishinaabemowin Instructional Videos and Educational Materials Project
Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) developed a series of instructional videos and audio-visual teaching tools for Anishinaabemowin learners in the form of interviews between an instructor and a student. Once the interviews were completed, handouts and other written materials were developed for use alongside these videos for high school learners and teachers. Additionally, the Boys and Girls Club of Bay Mills worked alongside the BMCC Nishnaabemwin Pane Language Immersion Program to develop a coloring book for young learners.
Bay Mills Indian Community / Gnoozhekaaning Museum – Naudoweeguning: The Battle of Pt. Iroquois
The Bay Mills Indian Community and the Gnoozhekaaning Museum will host a public event sharing the history of the battle of Iroquois in Anishinaabemowin during the week of their “Honoring Our Veterans” pow wow. The event will be held at the Point Iroquois LIghthouse. In addition to sharing about the battle in Anishinaabemowin, there will be songs and traditional food for attendees to try. Each attendee will receive a program with the story in Anishinaabemowin, along with the names of traditional foods, and the words to the songs. The project will also allow for recorded and printed materials to be available to share with future visitors to the lighthouse (over 40,000 per year) in its exhibits, displays, and interpretive boards.
Bodwéwadmimwen Ėthë Ték, Inc. – Ggékyamnanêk Wdathmownëwan (Bilingual Books)
Of the three language groups that make up the Three Fires Confederacy, the Potawatomi language is the most endangered. Bodwéwadmimwen Ėthë ték (The Center for Potawatomi Language) sought to help preserve the language by publishing a bilingual book for learners of Potawatomi Yathmownen ga widmagoyan: Stories that I was told, which is only the 4th Potawatomi-English bilingual book in existence. The book was based on interviews with Jim Thunder, one of the last remaining speakers of Potawatomi, prior to his death. In addition, three Potawatomi language Zoom classes led by Mr. Thunder were edited and posted to the group’s Facebook page. The Language Department at the Hannahville Indian Community school plans to use the videos in their monthly language teacher professionalization course, as they no longer have access to a first-language speaker.
College of St. Scholastica – Maamawi wejibwemotaading Project/The ones who speak Objibwemowin together
College of St. Scholastica (CSS) held 20 online language tables and 5 in-person tables with an Ojibwe elder first-speaker from beginner to intermediate levels. Additionally, 365 participants registered for a month-long symposium focused on storytelling. The symposium allowed participants to hear traditional stories in both English and Ojibwe. Finally, CSS and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) also hosted the Biboon retreat, which focused on bird observation. Participants hiked with a Traditional Ecological Knowledge Keeper and a biologist from the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife commission, learning in Anishinaabemowin about local birds. Two drum feasts were also held in both October and December 2021.
(2023 Grant) The College of St. Scholastica (CSS), in partnership with Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC), effectively adapted its language initiatives by hosting eight beading workshops, engaging 5-10 participants per session. This innovative approach maintained community involvement while facilitating practical language use. The Ojibwe Language Symposium attracted over 250 attendees for a three-day event focused on language teaching and cultural practices, marking a successful return to in-person gatherings. Additionally, the Fourth Biboon Winter Sustainability Retreat was transformed into a spring cultural immersion weekend, although attendance was lower than expected. The Spring 2023 Odagaaki-bines Drum Feast engaged around 50 participants, celebrating Ojibwe culture and strengthening community ties.
East Jordan Public Schools – Gindaasidaa! Odaminadaa! Wisiinidaa! Let’s read! Let’s play! Let’s eat!
The East Jordan Public School District put on a language and culture immersion program at the LTBB Trival Headquarters for elementary, middle, and high school students. Students engaged in hands-on art activities while learning about Native American artists. Most importantly, older students served as mentors to the younger students to help create a community of language learners in East Jordan who are excited about language revitalization. One of the activities was playing the card game “Giigoonhken” (“Go Fish”) – as an added twist, table talk was allowed but only if done in Anishinaabemowin! As a surprise gift, all students got to take two bilingual books with them to practice. One of the teachers shared how excited her second graders were when they first saw the bilingual books: “Right away, they asked me if they got to keep a copy of the book. I was going to surprise them with it on another day, but couldn’t resist saying yes at that moment!”
Indigenous Enterprise, LLC. – Wendinigeng: The Source (Ojibwe resources online)
Indigenous Enterprise, LLC. produced 700 short-form posts that were published on a daily basis beginning in 2022. The posts were shared via YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and are now archived and easily accessible for future use. Their overarching goal is to build a virtual community of Anishinaabemowin learners by connecting them with high-quality materials.
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College – Ojibwa Language Specialist
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) is dedicated to enhancing the learning experience of the Ojibwa language for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). This initiative included twice-weekly tutoring sessions for students, engaging 11 unique students and 8 staff members to foster language practice and cultural connections. Additionally, an Ojibwa Language Specialist facilitated monthly workshops for staff, averaging 40 participants per meeting, which helped build fluency and community. The project also created 20 bilingual signs across the Wabanung campus, featuring pronunciation buttons to promote daily language use. Overall, these efforts have normalized Ojibwa at KBOCC, deepening connections to Anishinaabe culture and ensuring that language learning is integrated into everyday life, with resources that will benefit future students and staff.
Little Spirit Bear Productions – Gaganoozh – Digital Hand Puppets for Interactive Language Videos
The Gaganoozh team developed, translated, and created audio recordings of the book “Rabbit and Bear Paws: North” by Chad Solomon that form the basis of the augmented reality puppets. “We wanted to create something that would inspire Indigenous people of all ages to embrace the traditions of our ancestors in a modern way,” says Solomon, the designer of Gaganoozh the app and a proud member of the Henvey Inlet First Nation in Ontario, Canada. The story has been animated and transformed into an interactive video for young learners to use as a language resource. The app is free online and on mobile devices for general use. An estimated 15,000 students and teachers participated in the virtual event associated with the project. Gaganoozh is now live in the App Store! To read more about the app click here.
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) – Wigwamêk Neshnabémwen Tė: Potawatomi Language Around the House
A compilation of four Study Guides were developed based on work in the Tribal Tribune monthly newsletter as well as from weekly language classes. The material is being sent out to 320 Citizens via a paper newsletter and another 329 via email. In addition, a Family Potawatomi Language Camp was held with 25 Gun Lake Potawatomi citizens in attendance, along with a number of household members.
Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center – Family Camp
The Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center, in partnership with the Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program and Saginaw Tribal Community College, launched the Anishinaabemwin Gbeshing language day camp on May 18, 2024, attracting 30 participants. The camp aimed to engage families in using Anishinaabemwin in their daily lives, providing resources like games and word lists. Participants enjoyed interactive sessions on various topics, culminating in traditional songs performed by a drum team. Feedback indicated the camp was successful, with many attendees eager to continue their language learning. The center also plans to create a documentary featuring fluent Anishinaabemowin speakers to further promote the language and culture.
The Northwest Michigan Arts and Culture Network – It’s More Than Quillbox/Ooshme Gaawiyekaajigan aawon Research, Documentation and Translation
The Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network implemented an Anishinaabemowin project focused on traditional Great Lakes quillwork from February to August 2024, led by photographer and researcher Minnie Wabanimkee. The project aimed to research, document, and preserve Anishinaabek quillwork, contributing to a bilingual exhibition titled “It’s More Than Quillbox/Ooshme Gaawiyekaajigan aawon.” Key outcomes included the creation of two main videos and several short clips highlighting quill artists, along with over 900 photographs documenting the craft and its practitioners. The project also produced extensive bilingual interpretive materials, including exhibition labels and text panels, enhancing cultural understanding and accessibility. This initiative not only celebrates the artistry of quillwork but also strengthens the use of Anishinaabemowin, ensuring the cultural heritage is preserved and shared with future generations. The exhibition is set to open in November 2024, showcasing the collaborative efforts of various cultural institutions.
Ojibwe.net
The aim of this project was to develop the website www.ojibwe.net, ensuring that a wide variety of resources are available in one place for Anishinaabemowin speakers and language learners. The work focused on developing pages within the website, including a page with hyperlinks to a large variety of language resources, including dictionaries, books, videos, and language learning and certification opportunities. Some of the webpages have had over 10,000 views. The qualitative feedback indicates that many people have found the site to be quite useful in connecting to language materials and resources.
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma – Revitalizing Relationships through Anishinaabemowin
The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma held a three-day Anishinaabemowin language camp in conjunction with their annual powwow. Through dances and cultural programming, attendees of all ages gained knowledge and language about ceremonies, prayer, Medicine Wheel teachings, and traditional foods for decolonizing diets. The event connected Oklahoma Ottawas with their Great Lakes relatives by highlighting their shared cultures and traditions, with the broader goal of providing students with the skills and resources to incorporate Anishinaabemowin into their daily lives. Participants reported that they loved learning about their history and traditions while be surrounded by people speaking their language.
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians – Simon Pokagon’s Birch Bark Book Collection
Harnessing the affordances of multimodal learning, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians created an audiobook of 19th century tribal patriarch Simon Pokagan’s published stories. The stories, from his birch bark collection, were read by two elders and two younger language students. The recordings were made freely available to the larger Anishinaabemowin language learning community. Future plans for this project include creating enhanced e-books which allows readers to click on words and phrases to hear pronunciation.
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College – Strengthening Community Based Language Revitalization – Children’s Books Translations
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College (SCTC) built a multigenerational team to translate children’s books and games into Anishinaabemowin. They put all materials online, creating a virtual learning space where language learners of all levels could engage. In addition to materials development, SCTC hosted a variety of age-appropriate language immersion activities for families at the SCIT Annual Pow-Wow on July 24, 2021. “One of the biggest impacts was seeing how excited participants were to have an opportunity to experience using Anishinaabemowin,” said a representative of the project. The project has inspired future goals, including developing a certificate program for Ojibwe teachers at SCTC.
Ongoing Projects
Grand Portage Band – Niwii-anishinaabewibii’aamin Anishinaabe Bizindamoo-Makak (Radio Episodes)
WTIP North Shore Community Radio and Grand Portage Band are collaborating together to bring the transcripts of the past episodes of the bilingual radio program, Anishinaabe Bizindamoo-makak, and record new episodes with native Ojibwe speakers. As it is bilingual, these episodes feature an interview with Ojibwe speaker who shares stories in English and Ojibwemowin. Together, Grand Portage Band and WTIP aim to share old and new stories with the wide community of listeners and learners.
Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network – Ojibwe Immersion Lexicon Development
Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (MIIN) is working on creating a lexicon of words for Ojibwe immersion educators. Together with MIIN members, instructors and classroom staff will identify vocabulary needs and work with native speakers to develop a set of words. Once the list is finalized, it will be available to everyone, including immersion language instructors, on MIIN website, https://www.miinojibwe.org, and ready to use.
Map of Anishinaabemowin Projects
Click here for an interactive map of our Anishinaabemowin Projects.
