Please join us as we celebrate the publication of five Ojibwe language books published in cooperation with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's Aanjibimaadizing Project. This event is in-person. Masks required! Miigwech!
Aanjibimaadizing, which means “Changing Lives,” is a program of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Through the Aanjibimaadizing Project, sixteen first speakers have teamed with linguists, teachers, and Ojibwe language experts to create this new literature for Ojibwe language learners. Conceived and presented only in Ojibwe, the stories reflect a rare authenticity as they transmit cultural values, increase vocabulary, and reinforce identity.
The five books are:
Gaa-pi-izhiwebak, Ge-ni-aabadak Giniigaaniiminaang, Akawe Niwii-tibaajim, Anooj Inaajimod, Nishimeyinaanig
Authors/Editors:
Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is the author of The Cultural Toolbox, The Language Warrior’s Manifesto and fourteen other books on Indigenous history and language.
Michael Sullivan Sr. is the resident linguist for the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Immersion School on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation.
Illustrators:
Wesley Ballinger, a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe artist, is a community engagement coordinator for the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.
Steve Premo, an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, is a graphic designer, illustrator, and fine artist.
Jonathan Thunder, a member of the Red Lake Nation, is a multidisciplinary artist who works in canvas painting, animation, filmmaking, and 3D projection mapping.
Elders and Transcribers:
Elder writers who have worked on the project include: William Premo Jr., Lee Staples, Carol Nickaboine, Elfreda Sam, James Mitchell, Bette Sam, David Sam Sr., Susan Shingobe, Lorena Gahbow, Ralph Pewaush, Joe Nayquonabe Sr., Brenda Moose, Shirley Boyd, and Frances Davis.
Transcribers include Mille Lacs Band and community members Amanda Nickaboine, Baabiitaw Boyd, John P. Benjamin, Bradley Harrington, Jada Montano, and Samantha Peet.