Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak

Erik Redix talks with Nancy Jones, Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nations elder and language teacher. She talks about the spiritual power of women, finding Eagle feathers and why the Cedar tree is significant for Ojibwe families.

With thanks to the Blandin Foundation for their support of culture and history features on WTIP.

In Episode 18, Erik Redix talks with Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nations elder and first speaker Nancy Jones. She shares stories about netting whitefish, weaving and caring for nets, and traditional ways of storing food for the winter. She also talks about how winter nights are an important part of teaching and learning about the night sky and predicting the weather, based on animal sounds and other observations.

It’s Episode 17 with professor and author Anton Treuer, Ojibwe Language Instructor at Bemidji State University. He and Erik Redix talk about the various tools that are now available to language learners, introduces us to the importance of morphemes (root words) in Ojibwemowin and gives the definitive answer to the question, “Is Ojibwe the most difficult language to learn in the world?”

What is the current state of Ojibwe Language revitalization? In Episode 16 of Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak, host Erik Redix discusses this question with Bemidji State University Ojibwe Language Professor Anton Treuer. He shares some examples of how the Ojibwe language conveys a uniquely descriptive world view and leaves us pondering the role that language revitalization plays in defining who we are as Ojibwe people.

Photo by Staci Drouillard for WTIP Radio, 2022.

We’re once again joined by Maajigwaneyaash, Dr. Gordon Jourdain. In this episode Dr. Jourdain talks about seasonal traditions like harvesting manoomin and maple sap, and gathering firewood, in preparation for biboon–winter.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is produced by WTIP Community Radio, in partnership with the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe.

In Episode 14 of Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak, we welcome Maajigwaneyaash, Dr. Gordon Jourdain. He shares the story of how his great-great grandfather walked from Lac la Croix to Fort Francis, Ontario to trade furs and reveals the great importance of Thunder Bay to Ojibwe speaking Anishinaabe people.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is a partnership between the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe and WTIP.

Karen Drift is a Nett Lake elder and first language speaker of Ojibwemowin. She talks to program host Erik Redix about the Ojibwe naming ceremony and the role that dreams and visions play in giving a baby an Ojibwe name. She also speaks about the importance of learning and speaking the Ojibwe language all throughout one’s life–from childhood to the end of a person’s life.

Manoominike da! Let’s go ricing! In this segment, Erik speaks with Nett Lake elder Karen Drift and her grandson Perry, about the ricing tradition. She shares stories about ricing at Nett Lake when she was a girl, the Ojibwe words and phrases for this annual tradition and talks about the role of dreams in predicting the rice harvest in the fall.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is a monthly program hosted by Grand Portage Ojibwe Language Coordinator Erik Redix. WTIP producer Staci Drouillard interviewed Erik about the show and the work he does as a teacher of Ojibwemowin and the work being done throughout Ojibwe country toward language revitalization.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is supported by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

We continue the conversation with Karen Drift, elder from Nett Lake and life-long Ojibwe language teacher and learner. In this episode she explains the many ways of teaching the language, shares some family history about her grandmother Rose Beargrease and explains why efforts toward language preservation and revitalization are so important.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is a production of WTIP, and is produced in partnership with the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

In Episode 10, Erik Redix speaks with Nett Lake elder Karen Drift, who shares late-winter Naniboujou stories about how birds chose their colors long ago, how the snake and the frog showed the Anishinaabe people where to find medicine to treat Poison Ivy and how the Red Willow got its name.

Photo of Karen Drift with Red Willow, from video by Erik Redix.

In Episode 9 of Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak, Dr. Gordon Jourdain talks with Erik about preparing for the arrival of a new baby and the cultural significance of the naming ceremony. Pictured is Maajigwaneyaash, Dr. Gordon Jourdain.

In Episode 8 of Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak Maajigwaneyaash–Dr. Gordon Jourdain explores the Ojibwe words for colors, remembers winter at Lac la Croix and shares how he learned the art of building houses, all in Ojibwemowin. Pictured: Dr. Gordon Jourdain and host Erik Redix, via Zoom.

In Episode 7, Dr. Gordon Jourdain speaks about his new role at the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Immersion School at Lac Courte Oreilles, and about the different Ojibwe words for December and January, including a story about the traditional ways of keeping time based on the cycles of the moon. This bilingual program airs monthly and is a partnership between the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe and WTIP Community Radio.

Listen to every episode at: Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is a bilingual program that features Ojibwe first speakers telling stories in Ojibwemowin and English. In Episode 6, Dr. Gordon Jourdain discusses the importance of raptors in Ojibwe culture and what he calls “the dichotomy of thought.” Hosted by Erik Redix, the series is a partnership between the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe and WTIP North Shore Radio.

In Episode 5 of Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak, host Erik Redix speaks with Dr. Gordon Jourdain about community differences and similarities and the traditional use of asemaa, known as tobacco, which we learn doesn’t translate directly into the English language.

Host Erik Redix continues his conversation with Cook County School Ojibwe Language teacher Martina Wigwas, who is from Gull Bay First Nations, Ontario. In this segment she shares day-to-day life stories in English and Ojibwemowin, and discusses how views on disciplining children differ for those raised with a traditional, Ojibwe world view. Martina also talks about the various stages of life, and the lessons present in each level of experience.

Host Erik Redix talks with Cook County Schools Ojibwe Language teacher Martina Wigwas, who is from Gull Bay First Nations, Ontario. Martina talks about her holistic approach to teaching, incorporating language lessons that are relevant to Ojibwe traditional skills, family life and cultural traditions.

In Episode 2, Erik Redix continues his conversation with Maajiigwaneyaash–Dr. Gordon Jourdain. He shares his family connection to Grand Portage, relates the history of the Anishinaabe village that was once at the center of Quetico Park and discusses the spiritual significance of Ojibwemowin–the Ojibwe language.

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak Episode 1, with host Erik Redix. In this inaugural episode, Fond du Lac Language Specialist Dr. Gordon Jourdain tells the story of “Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak,” and the importance of radio communications when he was growing up at Lac La Croix. He then gives the deeper meaning of bizindaw–the act of listening. Miigwech for tuning in!

Anishinaabe Bizindamoo Makak is a partnership between the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and WTIP Community Radio. The series is funded in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.