Anishinaabe Governance is… protecting our Culture and learning our Language.
The State of Language and Culture… currently.
The Good: In the past 50 years, never before have we seen such a resurgence in Anishinaabe culture. It began in the 60s with the young people finding out who they were. Today, they are raising their children and grandchildren using Anishinaabe values. So many a finding their ways back to traditional societies or living a lifestyle involving culture, spirituality and ceremony. Most of our First Nations have an annual jiingtamook (pow-wow or traditional gathering). There is a lot to celebrate.
The “Not-so-Good”: Studies have shown that the state of Anishinaabemowin (Anishinaabe language) continues to decline. We are losing fluent speakers at an incredible rate as our Elders pass on to the Spirit World. Although we are attempting to teach our children and citizens, those efforts are not producing fluent speakers. There are only a handful of Anishinabek First Nations that have a sustainable number of speakers to maintain the language.
Something has to be done.
Right now, the Indian Act remains completely silent on language and culture. The federal government does not provide any core funding specifically to address the state of language and culture in our communities.
The promise, hope and future of Anishinabek Language and Culture
Anishinabek First Nations have said what our Elders have said all along – we must make the preservation, use, and learning of our language and culture a priority. We must take action now.
Anishinaabe Governance is… the opportunity to take action on language and culture. Under an Anishinaabe Governance system, we can create laws that will protect our language. We can take measures to make Anishinaabemowin the official language of our nation. Most importantly, for the first time in history, we can invest in language by training and hiring new teachers, making language learning mandatory in our school system, and use the language in our homes and places of work.
We can begin to use the language every day, to speak, think and dream in beautiful Anishinaabemowin.
Anishinaabe Governance is… strengthening our language and cultural knowledge today and securing it for the next seven generations.