Anishinaabemowin gathering attracts BC guests

By Kirk Titmuss

WEWEBJIWANG, LITTLE CURRENT – About 60 Anishinabek Nation citizens – many of them Anishinaabemowin educators – attended the Zaagitoodaa Gdinwewininaa Nkweshkidaadiwin (Love Our Language) gathering held in Little Current, February 14, 2024, at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre.

Attendees listened to teaching experiences shared by language instructors and participated in a workshop examining the current learning climate for the traditional language, and listing teaching approaches that were showing signs of success in growing Anishinaabemowin in Anishinabek Nation First Nations.

Joining the event were two visitors who had travelled all the way from British Columbia to learn from the experiences shared by attending Anishinaabemowin teachers.

Sherri-Beth Rosette, White Eagle, is the Executive Director of the Pacific Association of First Nations Women (PAFNW+). The Vancouver-based non-profit’s mandate is “envisioning a matriarchal community where all Indigenous women in BC are safe and respected with a sense of belonging and connection to cultural traditions”.

Rosette shared her story of being a displaced Anishinaabe woman in Vancouver and discovering the value of learning the traditional language.

“All of us displaced Indigenous people don’t know if we can go home. We’re afraid of going home. We’re embarrassed. We find ourselves at a rock bottom and it’s hard to come home. And once we start to learn our language and then we can go home because we can talk to our ancestors, we can talk to our family, our relations.”

She said her language learning journey started in 2018 after spotting an ad on Facebook.

“They were teaching Ojibwe lessons in Vancouver, and I went, ‘What?!’, so, I signed up and I met my language teacher Monica Benson.”

Benson is one of the instructors in the weekly Ojibwe class held at the Native Education College in Vancouver, organized by the PAFNW+. The college conducts classes in both Ojibwe and Cree.

Rosette credits Benson for encouraging her to go home to see her family in Toronto after many years of separation.

She is also grateful for her accounting skill set for getting a job with the PAFNW+, which led to an even greater role.

“Because of my education in finance, I became the treasurer of the organization that was putting on that Ojibwe class in Vancouver. And a year and a half ago, I became the Executive Director.”

Joining her at the Manitoulin event was Kagan Eagle Child, a Blackfoot citizen from Alberta. He also works at the PAFNW+ as the Interim Lead in the organization’s languages department. Eagle Child’s background is in multi-media.

“I joined PAFNW+ to record the language and film the teachings, cultural teachings and stuff. And I’d just really like to thank again, especially the way teachers that took me in and became my grandparents basically and I’ve been there since.”

Eagle Child says the main reason for his and Rosette’s being at the Love Our Language gathering is to expand on how they can teach the traditional language and to take that knowledge back to Vancouver.

“We talked about this kind of group, and everyone has a different learning style, so that’s audio- visual or in-person hands-on and I just want to provide that to everyone so they can feel comfortable.”