Ojibwe Language Project
The short term goals are to create a constant and regular forum of Ojibwe language discourse between speakers. To record historical stories, anecdotes, and traditional lessons during appropriate times and in appropriate places, and to make documentation of local dialect forms.
Language Preservation and Education. $550,000 the first year and $550,000 the second year are for grants for programs that preserve Dakota and Ojibwe Indian languages and to foster educational programs in Dakota and Ojibwe languages.
The last quarter of project work was extremely successful in terms of meeting our project goals and objectives. We had stuggled in previous quarters to make significant progress due to health related reasons but we were successful in making numerous recordings and language explorations. Consistency in communication was aided by the ability to directly see each other several times this quarter as well. This was particularly helpful in that communications were not as one-way as they have been (master-> apprentice) but instead allowed for apprentice-> master communications more readily. Some lexicon development work has also been made that will continue into Fall 2012 funded by a university endowment. The greatest marked advancement this semester was communicative and cultural competence of the apprentice. The work in language advancement was increased in previous quarters by listening to recordings and self-practice sessions, the enhanced avlillity to practice with the master in authentically and contextually reich sessions allowed fo rthe kinds of interactions that alllow for the gighest domains of speech to emerge. many of hte stories that were learned or recorded will find expression in teacher education programs, particularly in Native early childhood teacher training program (Maawanji'idiwag) that has an emphasis on the Ojibwe language. Students at teh Enweyang Language Immersion school will also benefit from the stories this next year. The goal of articulating and expressing meaning in language will have outcome in teacher training cohorts this fall, as well as in the doctoral progam in global Indigenous leadership in language and culture programming. Much of the work done by the core Master-Apprentice team was done together, in public settings with many many attendees. Teh strength of such a team in promoting teaching and learning in and of Ojibwe was remarkable and over the course of many language learning sessions, community events, and ceremonial gatherings, hundreds of Anishinaabe/ Indigenous people were served both directly and indirectly.