A Native Tongue
By René Wheaton
Professors work to keep the Ojibwe language and culture alive in Michigan.
“In only 10 to 12 years, mine might be one of the few Native American languages alive,” says Howard Kimewon, a lecturer in U-M’s Program in American Culture. “That is why we are fighting so hard, but it is a struggle.”
Kimewon (above, middle) teaches Ojibwe alongside American Culture lecturer Margaret Noori, (right) and both of them are fighting to keep one of North America’s remaining indigenous languages from going the way of the passenger pigeon, or omiimii as they were called in Ojibwe.
It’s a personal mission for Noori and Kimewon, who both have Ojibwe ancestry. Noori, who is originally from Minnesota, began learning the language when she was 15, and it led her to pursue a doctorate in linguistics. For Kimewon, Ojibwe was his first language. He’s a fluent speaker originally from Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve in Ontario, and he’s seen the language dying off since his youth spent on Canada's Manitoulin Island.
Hear U-M's fight song sung in Ojibwe by Professor Margaret Noori and her daughters. Download the audio file here.
Ojibwe was once spoken throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes region, but now only about 10,000 people speak it, according to the Associated Press. Many languages across the world are nearing extinction at a rate of one every 14 days, says a report by National Geographic’s Enduring Voices project. A language is particularly in danger when all its speakers are older and the language is no longer being taught to children.
Because Ojibwe, or Anishinaabemowin, is on the brink, Noori and Kimewon are working to get the language not only on the tongues of Ojibwe youth, but on the tongues of university students of varied disciplines and ethnic backgrounds. Currently, 250 students are studying Ojibwe at U-M.
But learning Ojibwe is not easy; the language is very different than English.
“One major difference is that the Ojibwe language is 80 percent verbs,” Noori explains. “The verb is central, where in English the noun is central.”
That simple difference gives immediate insight into the indigenous people who originally inhabited Michigan. “They thought very differently as a culture than the Europeans who came here,” Noori says. “The Ojibwe were focused on action, while the Europeans were more focused on possessions.”
Noori hopes her efforts to revitalize Ojibwe can help the state’s current Native American population, which is struggling.
“We have university students who will visit a nearby reserve, which is only 45 minutes away,” Noori says. “The kids there struggle with depression.” And the high school dropout rate for Native Americans is among the highest in the country, according to the publication Education World.
“It’s helpful for Native American youths to see Michigan students studying and speaking their language. It helps build their cultural identity, and they can imagine themselves going to college.”
While she recognizes there’s still a lot of work to do, Noori is proud to be part of a longstanding tradition at U-M. “Ojibwe has been taught here for more than 30 years,” she says. “It’s important to recognize that Michigan has a tradition of asking people to think outside their own culture.”
Noori says the study of the language and its use around campus brings the Ojibwe culture into the present day. For Kimewon, he sees a once-dying language being revitalized, one student at a time. “It is really beautiful for me to hear the language spoken in the hallways of the University of Michigan.”
Hear a round dance song written by a U-M student and sung in Ojibwe. Download the audio file here.
To learn more about Ojibwe at U-M, visit www.ojibwe.net.