A language carries a people's memories, whether they are recounted
as individual reminiscences, as communal history, or as humorous
tales. This collection of stories from Anishinaabe elders offers a
history of a people at the same time that it seeks to preserve the
language of that people.
As fluent speakers of Ojibwe grow older, the community questions
whether younger speakers know the language well enough to pass it
on to the next generation. Young and old alike are making
widespread efforts to preserve the Ojibwe language, and, as part of
this campaign, Anton Treuer has collected stories from Anishinaabe
elders living at Leech Lake, White Earth, Mille Lacs, Red Lake, and
St. Croix reservations.
Based on interviews Treuer conducted with ten elders -- Archie
Mosay, Jim Clark, Melvin Eagle, Joe Auginaush, Collins Oakgrove,
Emma Fisher, Scott Headbird, Susan Jackson, Hartley White, and
Porky White -- this anthology presents the elders' stories
transcribed in Ojibwe with English translation on facing pages.
These stories contain a wealth of information, including oral
histories of the Anishinaabe people and personal reminiscences,
educational tales, and humorous anecdotes. Treuer's translations of
these stories preserve the speakers' personalities, allowing their
voices to emerge from the page.
Treuer introduces each speaker, offering a brief biography and
noting important details concerning dialect or themes; he then
allows the stories to speak for themselves. And from them we learn
about the distant past -- "What They Did Long Ago" -- and the
speakers' personal pasts, including experiences in government
boarding schools. We hear humorous anecdotes about legendary
figures and theintersection of opposing cultures. We listen to
discussions of the Indian's gifts, not least of all that of the
Ojibwe language. And we hear a refrain of hope for the future,
summarized neatly in the story "This Is a Good Way of Life".
This dual-language text will prove instructive for those
interested in Ojibwe language and culture, while the stories
themselves offer the gift of a living language and the history of a
people.
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