Aamjiwnaang First Nation helps at-home learners take in Anishinaabe teachings

By Colin Graf

AAMJIWNAANG FIRST NATION— Many families won’t have enjoyed the warm, sweet delights of an early spring cooked breakfast at the sugar shack with fresh maple syrup this year, but all ages of  Anishinaabemowin language learners at home can add to their vocabulary and learn about syrup making with a new documentary video.

The video, Ziidbaatogeng: Maple Syrup Making; Sugarbush Traditions and Teachings on Aamjiwnaang, made by independent filmmaker Derek Sands of Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation) to ensure an important part of Anishinaabe culture and tradition is preserved and passed down to future generations, says Vicki Ware, Education Services Coordinator.

The video, released Apr. 2 on Sands’ Indigital Films YouTube channel, shows the steps Aamjiwnaang Elders and brothers Roger and Rudy Williams, along with younger helpers, take in tapping trees in the bush of the First Nation located along the St. Clair River, and boiling the sap to get syrup.

The film features a visit by the community’s 2019 Kindergarten class, Binoojiinyag Kino Maagewgamgoons, to the sugar bush where they get to taste maple treats and watch a puppet show which tells the legend of Ninaatig, the man-tree who tells the ancient Anishinabe, who are almost starving in spring after their winter food stores are eaten, how to cut his skin to get the sweet sap out.

The class has been doing land-based learning at the sugar bush for 10 years, Ware says, and with some Elders continuing to age, she felt it was the right time to record their memories and methods of working.

The 50-minute production also features voiceovers of keywords relating to syrup making in Anishinaabemowin by Elders from Aaamjiwnaang and Bkejwanong, and an explanation by Aamjiwnaang historian David Plain of how sap was harvested before European contact with flint knives making gashes in the trees to allow the liquid to flow.  Rolled-up birch bark was used to make taps so the sap could flow into bark pails, which were then filled with heated stones to boil the sap down.

The film has a message beyond simply presenting the techniques of syrup making and showing the children enjoying the results, says Sands, who also works as the Indigenous Enrollment Advisor at Lambton College in Sarnia. He says that the spirit of the film is about community.

“These Elders work very hard…They share the fruits of their labour for the whole community; that’s what’s important,” Sands says, noting that they also do so without pay.

A community gathering and feast had been planned for the release of Ziidbaatogeng but had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Ware. She says the film has been released anyway because education workers wanted to make sure it came out “during the time of year when this [syrup making] is actually happening,” she explains.

The film is available for teachers preparing lessons at home or parents looking for cultural enrichment for their children, no matter where they live, says Ware, although the syrup making method may vary in different places.

The Kindergarten class is still getting help with learning during the pandemic from their teacher, Kim Henry, online and from volunteers, says Ware. The class has been having a nature scavenger hunt; counting and graphing what they find, and will be planting and growing seeds that are delivered to their homes with pots, she says.

Once the children are back in school, the film should help with Aamjiwnaang’s plan to create a “language nest” at the community childcare centre where the majority of instruction and interaction will be in Anishinaabemowin, Ware says. Educators there have had help from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation that is running an Ojibwe language immersion program at Antler River School, she adds.

Her department is also working on developing a digital app to help children learn their ancestral language. Jessie Plain, the community’s language project administrator, has been working with the Winnipeg company Ogoki Learning in developing the app, which is close to being released.

Other plans focus on language revitalization classes for adults and the making of a second film by Derek Sands, documenting Aamjiwnaang’s efforts at relearning Anishinaabemowin. Some scenes were shot at a language seminar held in January. According to Ware, a language gathering set for the end of May has been cancelled or postponed as work has also been stalled on the new film project.

The adult classes are an interesting blend of learners at different levels, she says and hopes they will continue in the future.

The Ziidbaatogeng video has received over 800 views on YouTube since its release.