The Language of Babies and Parenting

Ojibwemotaadidaa Omaa Gidakiiminaang - will train five staff members in the language and practice of traditional activities associated with babies and parenting, led by knowledgeable elder-first speakers with years of experience. Staff members will spend a total of 16 days with four elder-first speakers engaged in language associated with pregnancy, birthing, newborns, infants, toddlers, cradleboard, moss bags, baby swing, and baby rattles. We will make audio-video recordings of these training sessions to have as a detailed record and reference tool. In separate sessions with the same elders, Dr. John Nichols and our staff will make archival-quality recordings for incorporating into our immersion curriculum and for dissemination to other immersion programs, interested individuals, tribal colleges, the Ojibwe People?s Dictionary, and the Fond du Lac Language Office. In addition, these recordings will be digitally archived in the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) library. Conferring with the same elders, our staff will develop immersion curriculum focused on four selected themes, incorporate the audio files, and share in workshops attended by as many as 18 aspiring Ojibwe parent-speakers accompanied by their babies, infants and young children. Along with these immediate outcomes, the project will lay groundwork for a future Ojibwe language and day care center at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, focusing on ages newborn to five years.