Over time, colonialism attempted to stamp out Indigenous culture in Canada, resulting in dwindling numbers or extinction of many Indigenous languages. Of the over 60 Indigenous languages in Canada, many of them have very few speakers left, or are considered on the verge of extinction.
The Ojibwe people are part of the Anishinaabeg, whose traditional territory stretches across central Canada and into the United States.The Ojibwe language (also known as Anishinaabemowin) is part of the Algonquian language family, alongside Odawa and Algonquin dialects. The 2011 Canadian census shows that nearly 20,000 people speak Ojibwe as their mother tongue.
Below are some resources for learning and improving upon your Ojibwe skills:
The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary: This site is a browseable and searchable dictionary with both English-to-Ojibwe and Ojibwe-to-English translations. The dictionary also contains categorized sections for different word families (for example: wildlife) and photographs of Ojibwe culture.
Sault College ‘Let’s Start Ojibwe’ series: Sault College has a collection of Ojibwe lessons from its in-class language courses. The videos have many different levels of difficulties and themes, so all experience levels can find helpful resources here.
Anishinaabemowin Everyday: This website has a series of lessons that take only 15 minutes each day. The lessons include pronunciation and translation practice. Take these lessons with a friend to keep yourself on track!
Noongwa e-Anishinaabemjig: This website, which means “People who speak Anishinaabemowin today,” amalgamates a variety of resources to learn the Ojibwe language. The University of Michigan sponsors this site and hosts three levels of Anishinaabemowin curriculum on this website, as well as lessons from visiting Ojibwe speakers and storytellers. This resource also lists picture books that are published in Ojibwe, and submitted projects from Ojibwe speakers.
Anishinaabe, Ojibwe Language: This website hosts a variety of resources to support learning the Ojibwe language. It includes a history of the Anishinaabemowin language, as well as its word, sentence and grammatical structure. There are a variety of materials for download, including calendars, games and lists of useful phrases. Additionally, there is a book list of books published in Ojibwe.
Barbara Nolan: Barbara Nolan is a Nishnaabe-kwe who tells stories in Ojibwe, with the help of illustrations to aid in understanding. These videos are complete immersion tools, and do not include translations or captions – save these for when you’re more comfortable with the language.
Grammar and Language Format tools: This website contains grammar structure explanations, a dictionary, and language lessons. There is also a collections of helpful links to websites, dictionaries, and more.
Learn Ojibwe in University:
Do you know, or have you used any other resources to learn Ojibwe? Let us know in the comments!