Language
Cultural Significance
"If we lose the language, we are no more, we may become something else, but we will not be Anishinaabe."
-Walt Bressette, Red Cliff Ojibwe
Because oral tradition is central to the Ojibwe way of life, Ojibwe culture itself is contained within the words of the Ojibwe language. Today, the utilization of this language by Ojibwe people not only signifies a connection with their heritage but quite literally carries with it an entire history, tradition, and worldview. The very form and vocabulary within the Ojibwe language points to what is held closest in Ojibwe culture, including religious and spiritual beliefs and an array of other values.
A Dying Language?
Ojibwe, also known as Anishinaabemowin, Ojibwe, Ojibway, Ojibwa, Southwestern Chippewa, and Chippewa, is still spoken today by the Anishinaabe people throughout much of Canada and north-central United States. Due largely to American Indian boarding schools and the subsequent attempts of the United States to eliminate Ojibwe culture, however, the proportion of Anishinaabe who speak the language today is startlingly small. In 2010, for example, "the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger list[ed] Ojibwe in Minnesota as 'severely endangered' and define[d] it as a language "spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves" ("About the Ojibwe Language," n.d.). Since this time, however, much effort has been made by the Ojibwe people to teach their language to younger generations, including the Mille Lacs Band's establishment of Ojibwe Language and Culture Programs at its Nay Ah Shing Schools. To learn more about these schools and their programs, click here.
Image Source: Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe