Residential Schools part 2: Nee-bing No-pi-meeng – Summer in the wilderness
Nee-bing No-pi-meeng
Summer in the Wilderness
No-pi-meeng kee-way-ti-nong nee-bing nin-gee-o-ta-min-no-ming.
Nin-gee-i-zhi-taa-min Washi Saa-gay-i-gun-neeng.
O-way gee-i-shi-zay 1960 kaa-a-go-ching Shaa-gun-naa-shee gee-zis man-zi-nay-i-gun.
Kee-a-tay mi-tig waa-ga-i-gun chee-ga-beeg ni-baa-baam-i-bun a-ee tush ni-mi-zhoo-mayns-si-bun ay-gee-o-zhi-too-waach.
Nee-si-a-ee ka-in-ni-chi-wong zee-bee waa-sag a-tay Ogoki Post way-bi-ni-gun.
Albany Zee-bee i-zhi-ni-kaa-tay way-ti kaa-bi-mi-chi-wong.
Neem-bo a-tay-won paa-wi-tig-goon.
A-mee-way ni-o-ta-min-no-way-win-min-naan aki.
Ni-shee-mayns, neen ga-ween ma-shi nin-gee-i-zhaa-zee-min Ka-i-zhi-ta-naa-ni-wong Ka-ki-noh-maa-gay-wi-ga-mi-gong.
Ni-mi-sayn-si-mi-naan kaa-ni-ki-chi-a-yaa-wich ween-gay min-zi-way gay-goon o-gee-too-taan.
Ween-gay o-gee ni-taa a-ba-chi-toon pah-si-tay-bi-chi-gun-i-ni.
Nin-gee pah-pah-ma-sha-gay-min.
Ni-mi-sayn-si-mi-naan gee-i-kit-toh o-gee-a-yaa-waan i-sh-ko-tayn-sun, chi sa-ga-sway-yung.
“Ki-gee ki-moot nah maa-maa o-ta-say-maam-un?” nin-gee ka-kway-chi-maa-naan.
“Ka-ween.” i-kit-toh.
O-gee o-taa-pin-naan kaa-paan-gong mi-tig mish-ko-shee kaa-a-tayg chee-gi-beeng.
O-gee-poh-goh-naan chi izhi-naa-gong a-say-mans-sun.
O-gee-ta-goh-maan, o-gee-sa-kon maa-chee-sun.
Gee-kan-di-naa-moh.
I-sh-koh-tay-ni o-gee kaan-di-naa-mo-taan, gee-chaa-gi-zo, nin-gee-pah-pi-yaa-naan.
Gee-mi-ni-kway-bun-no ni-bee-ni.
O-toon gee-chaa-ki-zoh, bun-gee ay-ta.
Nin-gee-waa-ba-maa waa-bi-goh-sheesh pay-shi-goh, un-na-ming waa-ka-i-gun-ning.
Nin-gee-ween-da-mo-waa ni-mi-sayn-sim.
Gee-i-kit-toh- o-maa chi a-bi-yaan may-goh ay-i-zhach a-wus-si-ni-kay-ee.
Gee-i-kit-toh chi ka-na-waa-ba-mug waa-bi-goh-shees.
“A-how” nin-gee-i-kit
Nin-gee-waa-ba-maa ni-mi-sayns, a-wus-si-ni-kay-ee kee-a-yaa, a-ni-gee
pah-si-tay-bi-chi-gaych.
A-mee-way maa-chich kaa-ma-kwayn-da-mo-yaan.
Kee-pee-sha kee-ka-kway-tay ma-gi-shoh nah o-gee mee-kohn nah waa-bi-goh-shee-shun.
Kee-pah-pi ay-gee waa-bun-dung miss-kwi ni-oska-tig-ong.
Ka-ween meen-na-waa nin-gee waa-ba-maa-zee-naan waa-bi-goh-sheesh.
Gee-gi-chi chee-way-taa-gohn no-pi-meeng gaa-pih-o-taa-bin-naa-gun-ni-waach
ni-mi-saynsi-min-naa-nug, ni-say-aynsi-mi-naan ays-koh nee-bing meen-na-waa chi ka-ki-no-maa-goh-si-waach way-ti waa-shug.
Ka-ween meen-na-waa nin-gee waa-ba-maa-zee-waa-naan-ug ay-ta-goh-gong, bi-boon-ong, zee-koh-nong.
Kee-pih-gee-way-wug meen-na-waa ay-ni-pahngi-zi-mooch O-day-mi-ni gee-sis.
Meen-na-waa nin-gee min-wayn-da-min.
A-mee-way pih-na-maa.
Eli Baxter
Anishinaabay Inini
Summer in the Wilderness
In the wilderness up north we played.
We lived at Washi Lake.
This happened in 1960 as it hung in the Canadian calendar.
There was a log house near the shore that my late father and my late uncle built.
Down the river far away was Ogoki Post reserve.
Albany River is the name of the river that flows there.
There are a lot of rapids.
This was our playground.
My little brother and I haven’t yet gone to the residential school.
Our older sister who was a little older did all sorts of things.
She was very good using the slingshot.
We walked along the shore.
Our older sister said she had a match so that we could smoke.
“Did you steal mom’s cigarettes?” we asked.
“No.” she said.
She picked up a dry stick of a bulrush stalk that was near the shore.
She broke it to look like a cigarette.
She held it in her mouth, she lit the match.
She sucked back.
Fire went into her as she sucked back, she got burnt, we laughed at her.
She quickly drank water.
Her mouth was burnt but just a little.
Once I saw a mouse under the house.
I told my older sister.
She said for me to stay while she went to the other side.
She said to watch the mouse.
“Ok” I said.
I saw my older sister, she was on the other side, she pulled back her slingshot.
That was the last thing I remembered.
She came around asking if she hit the mouse.
She laughed when she saw the blood on my forehead.
We never saw the mouse again.
There was a great silence in the north when they were taken, our older sisters, our older brother after the summer, so that they can be taught again over there in the far place.
We didn’t see them again in the fall, winter or spring.
They came home again at the end of June.
We were happy again.
That is all for now.
Eli Baxter
Anishinaabay Inini