LRInspire presents: learning to speak Ojibwe. Ojibwe is a Central Algonquian language spoken by the Anishinaabe people throughout much of Canada from Ontario to Manitoba and US border states from Michigan to Montana. It is centered around the Great Lakes homeland of the Ojibwe people.

Boozhoo Gaagiigidowin – Introductory Speech

Audio file for Boozhoo Gaagiigidowin – Introductory Speech

Boozhoo/Aaniin (Hello / Hi)
nindinawemaaganidog. (my relatives.)
niijii-gikinoo’amaaganidog. (my classmates.)
niijii-bimaadiziig. (my fellow human beings.)
niij-anishinaabedog. (my fellow Anishinaabes.)

Bangii eta go ninitaa-ojibwem. (I only know how to talk Ojibwe a little.)
Gaawiin aapiji ninitaa-ojibwemosii. (I don’t know how to talk Ojibwe very much.)
Ninga-kagwejitoon ji ojibwemoyaan. (I will try using Ojibwe.)

______ nindizhinikaaz zhaaganaashiimong. (My name is ____ in English.)
______ nindigoo ojibwemong. (I am called ______ in Ojibwe.)
Niin nindoodem ____. (My clan is ____.)
Gaawiin niin nindoodemesii. (I don’t have a clan.)
Gaawiin (mashi) ningikenimaasii nindoodem. (I don’t (yet) know my clan.)
__ niin nindoonjibaa. (I come from ____.)
____ nindaa. (I live in ____.)
____ nindanokii. (I work at ____.)

Mii o’o minik waa-ikidoyaan noongom. (That is all I’m going to say now.)
Miigwech bizindawiyeg. (Thank you for listening to me.)

Click here to download PDF file of the speech: http://shaawano.com/media/boozhoo01.pdf

Shaawano Chad Uran (White Earth Anishinaabe) received his PhD in Anthropology in 2012 from the University of Iowa. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota. He has taught at Bowdoin College in Maine, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, The Evergreen State College in Washington, and the University of Washington. His research areas are: Indigenous language revitalization, language and identity, American cultural studies, language ideologies, American Indian sovereignty, critical theory, Native American studies, and coloniality.