Obizaan’s Teachings about Respect for All Things and the National Problem of Gun Violence
Program host Erik Redix visited with Obizaan–Lee Staples, a Mille Lacs elder and monolingual/first speaker of Anishinaabemowin. In this short story Obizaan’s apprentice Chato Gonzales translates what Obizaan has to say about teaching respect for all things–our elders, the animals, trees, the water–and how he believes that these cultural beliefs about teaching and learning respect relate to the National problem of gun violence and mass shootings.
Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak Episodes 21 and 22 with Obizaan and Chato Gonzales received a first-place award for “Specialty Programming” at the Midwest Broadcast Journalism Association awards in 2024. Listen to complete versions of Episode 21 and Episode 22.
With thanks to the Blandin Foundation, for supporting cultural programming on WTIP.
Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
