Anishinaabemowin Language Keeper and teacher precious to culture

By Kelly Anne Smith

NIPISSING FIRST NATION—A Nipissing First Nation woman spoke only Anishinaabemowin until she was seven-years-old. Now a valued language keeper and helper with Nipissing First Nation’s Culture and Heritage Centre, Evelyn McLeod states the Nipissing dialect is one of kind.

“There’s not many of us left now that speak in that dialect.”

“I was brought up with language. I was born in Sturgeon Falls and I was brought up in the Lavigne area ’til I was about seven-years-old. My dad took some guiding, and whatever kinda jobs there were at the time,” recalled McLeod. “I never heard about English, I don’t think, all that time I was growing up. Even though we lived in the West Nipissing area, that was the only language that I heard and spoke, is the Ojibway language—Anishinaabemowin.”

McLeod explains that there were five families living in close proximity.

“My great-grandparents were Whiteducks. My grandparents are Chevriers. My dad was Chevrier and there was McLeods living there from the same family area. When they brought me across, my great-grandparents and my grandparents moved to Sturgeon. They moved me there to start school. By that time, I was already seven-years-old,” explained McLeod. “When they registered me for school, I had a hard time to learn English. It was a good thing my uncles helped me by translating for me.”

McLeod says her mother was a registered Anishinaabekwe and her father was non-status Anishinaabe.

“When she married, she married into the non-status. They weren’t recognized as Anishinaabe so that’s why we lived off the reserve, all through that time,” recalled McLeod. “When the whole family moved to West Nipissing area, [Anishinaabemowin] was still spoken at home. We had to understand it. We had six of us kids in the family, four girls and two boys. In order for us to understand, we had to speak it. And when we visited our grandparents and our great grandparents, it was also spoken.”

“By that time, it was only English. My husband is Anishinaabe but he didn’t speak the language yet. He understands it. But we didn’t continue to speak it at home,” added McLeod. “My sisters and my brother, my brother who passed away 10 years ago—he spoke it. Now there are five of us. We speak when we get together. It’s a lot of fun. We always joke around with it. When we call, too. My brother—we usually call early in the morning. That’s what we speak, our language. But all the rest of the family like my sister’s grandchildren, they don’t speak the language at all now.”

“We didn’t think it was important then, maybe. I don’t know. I’m not really sure. So now we’re here, almost 50 years later. Gradually we started losing our language— Anishinaabemowin Nbissing language,” continued McLeod. “My dad always said, ‘It’s important that you do keep your language. You don’t lose your language’.”

In 1988, McLeod travelled to Thunder Bay to study language so she could teach children. She taught at Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School and Northern Secondary School.

McLeod later taught language at the two daycares on Nipissing First Nation.

“I’m still at one in Garden Village. I get them ready. I speak to them mostly in Ojibway. We use pictures. I’ve developed some booklets we use at the daycares.”

McLeod is active on Nipissing First Nation’s Anishinaabemowin committee.

“It’s a group of older ladies in their 70s and 80s. We translate,” explained McLeod. “We have two language classes. On Monday night it is in Duchesnay and Wednesday it’s here at the Church basement. We have volunteer ladies that go help out with the language. We have young teachers but there’s lots they don’t know yet. There are so many different dialects. It’s hard for the young teachers out there.”

McLeod has worked in the Early Years department and now with the Culture and Heritage Department.

“With Glenna Beaucage, the manager, we did a lot of recordings and a lot of translations.”

Signage in Anishinaabemowin throughout Nipissing First Nation has been created.

“On Wednesday afternoons we work with staff. They do crafts and we get them to speak some words. It doesn’t matter if you say it wrong but we’re there to correct. They think it’s funny when they’re speaking.”

McLeod also helps her nephew, Ian Campeau, when he visits or by talking to him on Facebook. He is Deejay NDN, a founder and former band mate of A Tribe Called Red and a strong advocate for Anishinaabemowin.

“He writes things down and I correct him if he needs to be corrected. He is studying the history of Nipissing First Nation.”

Campeau and his parents lived in Yelleck before moving to Ottawa.

“Since he was a little boy, he started with that language. He wanted to learn the language very much. Now he’s getting up there.”

McLeod says she is proud of him.

“He’s speaking to his children. I heard him when he was here the last time, so that’s wonderful.”

It is difficult for the youth to learn the language if it is not commonly spoken McLeod added.

“It’s hard for the young people to take that step because they never hear it at home. Elders here speak it when they meet.”

Both Nipissing First Nation Deputy Chief Muriel Sawyer and Councillor June Commanda are fluent Anishinaabemowin speakers.

Anishinaabemowin is a descriptive language with many verbs. Evelyn says a table is wiisniwaagan.

“That wiisni is the place where you eat from. Then that waagan would be the length of the board. The same thing with the chair. We say despowaagan. That’s where you go and sit.”

McLeod cautioned that the new students who are coming in are speaking a mixed Ojibway, influenced by Odawa, like the Manitoulin dialect.

“This is how we say it here, gookmisnaanig, our grandmothers. If you put the ‘i’ in there, that is gookmisinaanik. That would be the Manitoulin [dialect] describing the grandmothers. One vowel will make a different dialect.”

McLeod said there are never-ending inquiries for language help.

“I’m enjoying it.”

Evelyn also points out that the Nbissing way to write thank you is Miigwech.

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2019 has been proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Prime Minister Trudeau hoped to announce Canada’s plan to protect Indigenous Languages this year but he might not keep his promise made in 2016. Protecting Indigenous languages was wrapped into the Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework, which First Nations have asked for a reset on to take a lead.

There are 87 Indigenous languages threatened with extinction. Three Indigenous languages are extinct, never to be spoken again. 22 languages are considered vulnerable; 6 are definitely endangered; 24 are severely endangered; and 32 languages are critically endangered according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Sciences and Cultural Organization).