Modern-Day Preservation of the Ojibwe Language
Author: Kelsie Lynn Bryant
One of the main
issues many of the Ojibwe tribes are facing is the continued preservation of
their language and oral stories. Through centuries of colonialism and
imperialism brought on by the British and American colonies, we can witness the
decline in the use of the Ojibwe language. This mostly is a result of these
tribes being forced to assimilate to white, American culture. After centuries
of struggle to keep to the language alive, we can see some small steps towards
reviving the Ojibwe language.
Revival of the Ojibwe language is
important not only for linguistic purposes, but for also cultural purposes. The
tribes use the Ojibwe language to describe their sacred spaces, usually
centered around bodies of water such as lakes. The Ojibwe are primarily in the
northern part of the Midwest, and where they have currently set up their own
communities including schools, colleges, etc. In addition to that, the purpose
of language is to communicate and strengthen communities. Under this
assumption, we could see that the revival of the language could lead to real
sovereignty. In one article, a woman gives an account of her experience with
the Ojibwe language as a Native American. She provides an anecdotal piece of evidence
that shows, historically, Ojibwe people have been discriminated against and
even beaten for speaking the language. This, as a result, has created a sense
of guilt regarding the language throughout the generations. However, some
individuals and certain tribes still place emphasis on the language in the face
of a history of discrimination.
A few examples of preserving
indigenous languages is seen in “Madwewe – It is Heard”, an art exhibit on
Indigenous peoples at the Watermark Center, an Ojibwe-run institution. In
addition to that, the White Earth Reservation has been making inner-tribal
efforts to revive and preserve the Ojibwe language. However, it is not as
simple as that. There is not only an entirely new alphabet for the language,
but it also was originally recorded in the 1800’s, meaning that some (and
probably a significant amount) of culture was not historically recorded. On the
other hand, the Ojibwe also have a strong history of oral storytelling, which
is a cultural norm within the tribes. This alone has helped preserve the
language even through white imperialism, but now the tribes are focusing on
passing it on even further.
Onamia schools in Minnesota for
example have placed priority on creating and implementing an Ojibwe language
curriculum considering many of the students are native within these schools.
While the curriculum Onamia has created is centered around elementary schools,
they have stated that they plan to expand the curriculum into higher grades.
Some advocates within the school have also said they have an interest in
bringing Ojibwe language classes to college institutions. However, they face
pushback not only from an industrial capitalist system, but also from the older
generations. As described before, older generations almost fear the language
out of fear of backlash, physical or not. However, some elders have also
expressed that hearing younger generations speak the language brings them
emotional comfort. The language manifests itself as this very important and
emotional aspect of Ojibwe culture, so there is no question as to why there is
a current movement to preserve the language.
Another school by the name of
Waadookaading is also making an effort to teach the Ojibwe language. Much like
the above, their focus is on kids in younger grades. However, this is important
to note because this kind of education reinforces one’s own connection to their
culture. While some non-Native kids are in these classes, they are at least
being exposed to local indigenous culture. This will also harbor a growing
understanding of the native children around them as well, or at least that is
the aim.
One effort that was undertaken to
strengthen the tribe’s social bond was the movement for “Tribal Sovereignty
Day” in Minnesota, where they called upon multiple Ojibwe tribes to discuss
preservation and sovereignty for not just land, but all kinds of property that
make up material culture.
One important person to note is
William W. Warren. He was a Chippewa historian (Chippewa is almost synonymous
with Ojibwe as the territory expands across the American-Canadian border) who
fluently spoke the language, called Anishinabe. Going into adulthood, he began
to manually record oral Ojibwe stories and folklore, then expanded his writing
in order to better represent the Ojibwe people he identified with. While it was
previously states that it was recorded in a new alphabet, some of Warren’s
works were Romanized, or published in English, in order to make the material
more accessible not only to those who had lost touch with the language, but
also non-Natives as well.
While there is no outward effort to
stop the education and growth of the Ojibwe language, we must recognize that
its’ decline is a result of the colonialist imperial complex that the Europeans
brought over many centuries ago. In order to restore it, we need to better
support local tribal schools and reservations. Many of these tribes are
self-sustained, however the implementation of language classes can be
increasingly difficult, especially the older you get, so it is incredibly vital
that these tribes continue to teach and reclaim the Ojibwe language.
Author Bio: Kelsie Lynn Bryant is a Junior at IUPUI majoring in History.
Sources:
Native American
Almanac
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