Ojibwe Language Class

Today, I motored over to Hinckley to play bingo with the Elders at the District III Assisted Living Unit. It cost 25 cents for two cards and 25 cents a card when it was a special game. I walked out of there with two wins worth $38.75, Downy fablic softner and toliet bowl cleanser. I wanted the toliet paper but someone had already selected that but my Ma didn't win.

Later, I attended Larry "Amik" Smallwood Ojibwe class. Not many showed up this evening-just three of us. Amik gave us two hand outs: Who is Wenabozho0? and The Story of the Jingle Dress. I will repeat this handout:

Who is Wenaboozhoo, my seven year old asked me one night while we were laying in bed. Apparently he had been thinking about this after i had told him couple of short stories. I told him, Wenabozhoo is a Manido who is the son of our Creator. He was sent here to physically live with the Anishinabe people from infancy to elderly age. He was raised by his grandma like many of us older anishinabe people today.

Wenabozhoo roamed the old world showing the people how to live and speak Ojibwe, he did this by example of himself. Wenabozhoo was honest, dishonest, foolish, sensible, stupid, smart, greedy and generous. He was all the things a normal human was, but he was a Manido and had the ability to change himself to anything or anybody.

He roamed and made things the way they are today: how they look, how they feel, how they sound and how they smell. He named everything and everybody and gave them assignments.

After the great flood, he again traveled the new land telling people the prophecies and giving them the teachings that the Anishinabe needed.

The stories that are told about Wenabozhoo during the winter months are only for a purpose and that purpose is to teach our people the way of life, to teach our young what will happen if you behave in a certain way.

Wenabozhoo stories are called "legends" and I personally don't like this word, they should be called "teachings" because that is the purpose of "Who is Wenabozhoo" as written by Larry "Amik" Smallwood.


The sentence list was Aaniin ay zhi chi gayd, yahn,wahd, yun, yahng, yayg?

Aaniin gah izhi chi gayd, yahn, wahd, yun, yung, yahng, yayg?

Aaniin wah izshi chi gayd, yahn, wahd, yun, yung, yahng, yayg?

The word list for this lesson is dibikong, bijinahgo, zhaybah, nahguj, ishkwah nahwakwayg, onahgoshig, dibukuk, wahbung.

I will have to learn the double vowel for this words at some point.

I enjoy attending classes with Amik. I am comfortable with him.