DAKOTA & OJIBWE LANGUAGE SYMPOSIUM
Mille Lacs Band Commissioner of Education Niiyo Gonzalles.
By NAZHIKE, MILLE LACS BAND MEMBER
MIAC & Minnesota Humanities Center host 2-Day event at Grand Casino Mille Lacs
The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council’s Language Revitalization Working Group in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, hosted a two-day Dakota and Ojibwe Languages Symposium at Grand Casino Mille Lacs on February 9 and 10. The goal of the symposium was to bring people together who are working in Dakota and Ojibwe language revitalization. They also used the time to celebrate successes of what some groups have done in the past, highlight what is currently going on in the field, and help shape future language revitalization efforts. The symposium elevates the visibility of Indigenous languages throughout the state of Minnesota to bring awareness of the efforts underway. By bringing people together, the symposium served as an opportunity for individuals to network with other Dakota and Ojibwe language professionals. The event was held in-person and broadcasted virtually.
Joe Nayquonabe Sr. opened the event by offering asemaa to the Manidoog and Timber Trails sang a song to begin the conference.
“[I] Heard one of the best presentations on language ever!” said Nikki Pieratos, Executive Director of the Tiwahe Foundation, “It was visceral and completely inspiring, converting intentions to actionable commitments. One of the guided and modeled questions that struck me was, 'When do you first remember realizing that you did not know your language?' When I was at Lac La Croix with my grandparents as a kid, I realized that Anishinaabemowin wasn’t just spoken at funerals and powwows but was an everyday language. I’ve let so many years pass. The organization I’m proud to be a part of wants to support resources and will double down on the ways we support this event, and come spring, I’ll rejoin language classes and take my babies. Chi Miigwech/Wopila Tanka.”
She was talking about her experience listening to the Friday Keynote by Tipiziwin Tolman. Tipiziwin is Adjunct Faculty at Washington State University’s Teaching and Development, as well as a graduate student for a Master’s in Indigenous Language Revitalization from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Among the discussions were ideas around the stresses of being a language learner and the tools to overcome them. Not only are we having to reintroduce our languages back to our families and communities, we also need to overcome traumatic barriers that block our language learning.
Mille Lacs Band Commissioner of Education Niiyo Gonzalez shared an overview of the challenges identified by a diverse team of professionals with experience in the Indigenous language revitalization field. There was time to discuss the potential strategies for addressing these challenges within our local language communities.
With most of the conversations revolving around language documentation, technology, and teaching, there was general excitement at the stage of language revitalization efforts in our Ojibwe and Dakota Communities.
We all have a part to play. It is our languages. Miigwech.
Bimwewe Serena Graves spoking about her motivation to become an Ojibwe language teacher.
Mille Lacs Band Elder NAS School Board member Joe Nayquonabe Sr.
