The Importance of Ojibwe Language Revitalization

Introduction
This is a follow-up to my last post "Ojibwemowin Writing Systems" posted here on February 27th. This essay then is on "The Importance of Ojibwe Language Revitalization." This of course is important for all languages. Much has been done in Hawai'i, New Zealand, Ireland and other areas of the world to hold on to indigenous languages. Can humanity risk losing the ancient knowledge of heaven and earth that may be hidden in the depths of dying languages and cultures? 


I have been told by "Medicine Men" that there are healing herbs and plants that Americans and the world may never learn of, because there is the very realistic fear, in my view, that Monsanto or Bayer will come along, steal it, patent it, and the people (Anishinaabeg) will lose these valuable healing plants. So it's not only language, it's culture. There is no culture without language. If we are not to go the way of the dinosaurs, (also likely if we don't change our ways in my view) we'd better learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters around the globe and realize our place as part of Mother Earth and the scheme of things.  

Every single school in Bemidji now posts Ojibwe/English (bilingual) Signage. Here Principal Drew Hildenbrand points to a sign at the front door that says, "Hello, welcome to Bemidji Middle School."

The Importance of Language Revitalization
Loss of language and culture is a main concern of Ojibwe people today. According to Dr. Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, in his book entitled Ojibwe in Minnesota, estimates that there are fewer than 1000 Ojibwe speakers in the United States with nearly all of them residing in Minnesota*, and a majority of them from Red Lake. Treuer estimates that fewer than 100 speakers are left in Michigan, Wisconsin and North Dakota combined.
(*Coincidently like Ma'iingan/wolf? More on that in a coming post)

Multidimensional Efforts Underway in Minnesota to Preserve Ojibwemowin. Dr. Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University estimates 675 speakers in Minnesota, 400 of them from Red Lake.

Although their are thousands of speakers in Canada, language revitalization is becoming a concern there as well. Even within reservations speakers tend to be concentrated. “Almost all the speakers from Red Lake are from the community of Ponemah”, says Treuer. He estimates 675 speakers in Minnesota, 400 of them from Red Lake. “Language and culture go hand in hand”, adds Treuer, and points out that there are only a handful of Ojibwe speakers who conduct all traditional funerals in Ojibwe country.

Original stories written in Ojibwemowin delight learners with the antics of animals who playfully deal with situations familiar to children in all cultures. This and other books are "new" stories written by a half dozen or more fluent speakers.

Minnesota Ojibwe have begun a multifaceted approach to preserve the language. Immersion schools are being funded, and several other approaches are being conducted to garner renewed interest in language and culture, not only among Indians, but non-Indians as well.

The Minnesota Legislature recognizes the issue too, and has written legislation that states that the revitalization of American Indian languages is of vital importance to preserving the American Indian culture. The legislature has provided funding, with efforts in Minnesota designed to develop programs to teach the Dakota and Ojibwe languages to students, and to create fluent speakers at both the kindergarten through grade 12 level, and at the postsecondary level.


In the United States there is an "English-Only" political movement that questions the value of teaching languages other than English, including indigenous languages. But throughout many language symposiums, there has been a theme of how language and culture are intimately entwined and cannot be separated.

Elder and First Speaker Eugene Stillday of Ponemah is very much involved  in language revitalization  

Hope


Treuer writes in the aforementioned book that "The Maori of New Zealand went from 7% fluency to 100% for all students in their school system and made Maoritanga one of the country's official languages. Native Hawaiians went from 500 speakers to 15,000. Hawaiian is also an official language in Hawai'i along with English. Both groups have not only enjoyed language revitalization of their traditional languages and cultures but also a major boost to community cohesion, pride and solidarity. They've also seen the first major declines in gang activity and drug and alcohol abuse in their histories. The Ojibwe could pursue the same goals in Minnesota.


Gaelic in Ireland is also having great success in revival.

In the summer of 2009 efforts began in Bemidji to successfully convince over 150 businesses to post bilingual signage in English and Ojibwe from bathrooms to produce.


At a language symposium in Alaska the Iñupiaq Eskimos produced a card describing values. One side of the card read:
"Every Iñupiaq is responsible to all other Iñupiat for the survival of our cultural spirit, and the values and traditions through which it survives. Through our extended family, we retain, teach, and live our Iñupiaq way."


The other side read, 
"With guidance and support from Elders, we must teach our children Iñupiaq values" and then the card listed the values of "knowledge of language, sharing, respect for others, cooperation, respect for elders, love for children, hard work, knowledge of family tree, avoidance of conflict, respect for nature, spirituality, humor, family roles, hunter success, domestic skills, humility, [and] responsibility to tribe." The card concluded with "OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR UNIVERSE AND OUR PLACE IN IT IS A BELIEF IN GOD AND A RESPECT FOR ALL HIS CREATIONS."

What a wonderful reminder that indigenous language revitalization is part of a larger attempt by indigenous peoples to retain their cultural strengths in the face of the demoralizing assaults of an all-pervasive modern individualistic, materialistic, and hedonistic technological culture. The card reminds us of why it is so important to do everything we can to help the efforts of any person or group that wants to work to preserve their language.


Perhaps had the English, Spanish and later Americans assimilated with the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island as did the French, we would have a better society today.

At the entrance of Sanford Medical Complex in Bemidji. Sanford has taken the concept of "signage" very seriously. Eventually the whole complex will be posted bilingually. 

The Written Language


CHIPPEWA - CHIPPEWAY - OTCHIPWAY - OJIBWAY - OJIBWA - OJIBWE


The Ojibwe language has different sounds than many may be unfamiliar with. This is because Ojibwemowin does not lend itself to the 26 letter English alphabet. Rules then for pronunciation are being developed using the English alphabet as a base. As one can see demonstrated above, Ojibwe and Chippewa are actually the same word heard and then written differently.


There is always discussion on the correct spelling of Ojibwe words. In preserving the language, work is being done to get an accepted or standard spelling of Ojibwe words. It is felt by many, that the double vowel system seems to be the way to go.

Sanford Event Center in Bemdiji owned by the City. Sign posts with Ma'iingan (Wolf) Maang (Loon) Makwa (Bear) Migizi (Bald Eagle) and others help drivers remember where their cars are parked.

The Ojibwe Dictionary Project


The Endangered Languages Program of the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities is funding the development of a new dictionary of Anishinaabemowin, the Ojibwe language, through the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

John D. Nichols, left is co-author of A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe with BSU Professor Earl Nyholm.

Building out from the widely-used Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe, the new bilingual dictionary will contain words contributed by elders through their recorded stories, conversations, and discussions about words. The completed reference dictionary is expected to have entries for between 30,000-40,000 main Ojibwe words, each illustrated with a variety of inflected forms and example sentences, related to other members of its word family, and analyzed into its meaningful word parts.


Smaller specialized dictionaries for student use at different levels will be derived from the reference dictionary. An electronic dictionary will feature recordings of the pronunciations of words by the speaker contributors. Classification of words by word class and by meaning will allow users of the on-line dictionary to choose and display words according to their topic, form, or level of difficulty.

Come In! Says a sign at Dunn Bros. Coffee in Bemidji

Ojibwemowin: A Nation Lives Through Its Language
"Life is plurality, death is uniformity."

Scottish Gaelic
Am fear a chailleas a chanain caillidh e a shaoghal.
He who loses his language loses his world.

"Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life." ~" Octavio Paz

Spanish
Con cada lengua que se extingue se borra una imagen del hombre.
For every language that becomes extinct, an image of man disappears. ~Octavio Paz

Absolutely nothing is so important for a nation's culture as its language. ~Wilhelm von Humboldt

Spanish
Una lengua natural es el archivo adonde han ido a parar las experiencias, saberes y creencias de una comunidad.
A natural language is the archive where the experiences, knowledge and beliefs of a community are stored. ~ Fernando Lázaro Carreter

The loss of languages is tragic precisely because they are not interchangeable, precisely because they represent the distillation of the thoughts and communication of people over their entire history. ~Marianne Mithun

Manx
Çheer gyn çhengey, çheer gyn ennym.
A country without language is a country without an identity.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.~Nelson Mandela

Irish (Gaelic)
Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste, ná Béarla cliste.
Broken Irish is better than clever English.

Ojibwemowin Writing Systems

Double Vowel Orthography & Other Writing Systems

For thousands of years, the Anishinaabeg passed on their knowledge and culture orally through Anishinaabemowin. Recently in the language's history, people have begun to write it. You may see it written phonetically using the English alphabet or in the special characters of syllabics, which is used primarily in Canada. The newest writing system is the Double Vowel system, devised by Charles Fiero of Cass Lake.

There is no standard orthography, however the Double Vowel system is gaining popularity among language teachers and learners in the United Stated and Canada (including the seven Ojibwe Tribes of Minnesota) because of its ease of use. And many materials including books and text books are being produced using this orthography.

Birch bark scroll image from "The Midewiwin, or 'Grand Medicine Society', of the Ojibwa" in (Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing) Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Bureau of Ethnology Report, v. 7, pp. 149-299 by Walter James Hoffman. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891).

The Double Vowel system is based on the idea that the letters and letter combinations represent Ojibwe sounds, not English sounds even though they are taken from the English alphabet. Each letter or letter combination in the Double Vowel system has only one possible pronunciation, unlike English were the word "read" can be pronounced two different ways with two different meanings.

The system takes its name from its treatment of vowels. There are short vowels and long vowels. The short vowels are formed using one letter, and the long vowels are formed by two letters, or a doubling of the letter, and thus the name "double vowel."

At a conference held to discuss the development of a common Ojibwe orthography, Ojibwe language educators agreed that the Double Vowel system was a preferred choice, while recognizing that other systems were also used and preferred in some locations. The Double Vowel system is widely favored among language teachers in the United States and Canada, and is taught in a program for Ojibwe language teachers.

Pictographs/Ideographs

One of the goals underlying the Double Vowel orthography is promoting standardization of Ojibwe writing so that language learners are able to read and write in a consistent way. By comparison, "folk" phonetic spelling approaches to writing Ottawa based on less systematic adaptations of written English or French are more variable and idiosyncratic, and do not always make consistent use of alphabetic letters.

Letters of the English alphabet substitute for specialized phonetic symbols, in conjunction with orthographic conventions unique to Ojibwe. The system embodies two principles: alphabetic letters from the English alphabet are used to write Ojibwe, but with Ojibwe sound values; the system is phonemic in nature, in that each letter or letter combination indicates its basic sound value, and does not reflect all the phonetic detail that occurs. Accurate pronunciation cannot be learned without consulting a fluent speaker

Micmac - This form of writing Ojibwemowin known as Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics was developed by early missionaries among the Ojibwe in northern Canada. The text reads Koqoey nakia msit telikaqumilla'laji? - litterally "Why/those/all/after he did that to them?" or "Why are all these steps necessary?"

There are probably dozens of ways used among the Algonquin to spell Ojibwemowin, inlcuding "Folk Spelling" of Anishinaabemowin which is not a system per se, as it varies from person to person writing speech into script. Each writer employing folk spelling would write out the word as how the speaker himself would form the words.

There are First Speakers from Ponemah alone that might spell frog as Muckuckii, Muckakee Makaki Makakii, Omakakii and more…none are wrong.

But although none are wrong, not only among nations but among individuals from the same community, it is felt by educators that a consistent way of spelling would be helpful in teaching the language, consequently many in the US and Canada have begun using the double vowel orthography.

Pre-contact distribution of the Plains Ojibwe, Southwestern Ojibwe (Chippewa), and Algonquin dialects of the Ojibwe language

Before moving forward in Ojibwe, it is important to practice pronunciation and understand the most common spelling system. The double vowel system was created by Charles Fiero (working with fluent speakers in Minnesota) in the late 1950s and is used by Anishinaabe teachers, elders, translators, administrators, language activists, and students seeking a common Anishinaabemowin orthography.

It is currently used in over 200 Anishinaabe communities in and around Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Although this is a system of writing that the Anishinaabeg use on both sides of the international boundary, they also recognized the value and importance of syllabics and folk-phonetics/spellings as part of their linguistic heritage.

Ojibwe Alphabet and Pronunciation Chart Using the Double Vowel Orthography

Although the letters used are taken from the English alphabet, they represent Ojibwe sounds, not English sounds. In the examples below, Ojibwe sounds and English approximations of the Ojibwe sounds are given. However, it is always best to consult a native speaker for the best pronunciation. Correct pronunciation is important, mispronouncing a word can completely change its meaning.

Location of all Anishinaabe Reservations/Reserves in North America, with diffusion rings about communities speaking an Anishinaabe language. Cities with Anishinaabe population also shown.

Vowels
Ojibwe Sound - English Equivalent
a asemaa (tobacco) - about

aa omaa (here) - father

e esiban (raccoon) - way

i gimiwan (it's raining) - pin

ii niiwin (four) - seen

o opin (potato) - obey, book

oo oodenaang (in/to town) - boat, boot

Consonants
Ojibwe Sound - English Equivalent

b bakwezhigan (bread) - big

ch chi-oginiig (tomatoes) - chin

d doodooshaboo (milk) - dog

g gaag (porcupine) - go

h hay' (oops) - hi

j maajaan (go) - jello

k mikinaak (turtle) - kite

m mamoon (take it) - milk

n bine (partridge) - name

p baapiwag (they laugh) - pig

s es (clam) - sun

sh nishkaadizi (s/he's angry) - bush

t anit (fish spear) - time

w waawaan (egg) - woman

y babagiwayan (shirt) - yell

z mooz (moose) - zebra

zh niizh (two) - measure

' ma'iingan (wolf) - oh - oh (glottal stop)

The Nichols/Nyholm Dictionary

Notes:
The English letters and sounds of f, l, q, r, u, v and x are not part of the Ojibwe alphabet.

The Ojibwe alphabet contains the additional double-letter symbols of aa, ch, ii, oo, sh and zh .

The glottal stop (represented by an apostrophe) is a sound made a release of air from your throat, similar to when someone punches you in the stomach.

Credit for this pronunciation guide goes to Rick Gresczyk (Ojibwe Word List. Eagle Works, Minneapolis, MN.) and to John Nichols and Earl Nyholm (A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe)

Restoring the Great Pine Forests

Greenhouse Manager Gloria Whitefeather-Spears

Greenhouse Produces 1 Million Seedlings Annually

Recently, Red Lake Nation completed construction of a new Forest Development Center that will enable the Red Lake Band to begin the reforestation of the majestic pine that once covered it’s aboriginal homelands.

Most of these great pine stands were gone, and replaced with other species long before most of us were born. The big red and white pine were gone, logged by the BIA, the resource depleted. The time has come to bring the great pine forests back.

The Largest Red Pine in Minnesota is at Itasca State Park

Part of the plan of the Forestry Settlement Agreement with the federal government requires reforestation of the Red Lake Indian Forest. The big pine area which has been replaced by poplar and other types of deciduous trees, will be reforested with pines. According to Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain, Jr. “a certain amount of money has been allotted to reforest, re-stock our forests, I feel it mirrors the return of the Red Lake Walleye."  


Forest Development Center (Greenhouse)

The Forest Development Center contains three state of the art computer controlled greenhouses, a technologically advanced nursery, and seed bank, along with a laboratory and testing facilities.

The Lab area at the Greenhouse

The center has the capability of producing 1,000,000 seedlings annually. Adjacent to the Red Lake elementary school, the center will do much more than grow trees, it will soon open its doors to students for historical, cultural, and natural resource education. The forest work itself will also be an area for education.

“The 50-year plan is to replant the 50,000 acre Red Lake Indian Forest,” said Gloria Whitefeather-Spears, Red Lake Forestry Greenhouse Manager during a recent tour. "That’s 1,000 acres per year". She noted that “10% of the land is infrastructure, so 10% of the planting has been shifted to the ceded lands. The goal is to plant 250 acres each year per district, of an overall goal of of 1000 acres per year."

Red Lake Ceded Lands. Red Lake also owns most of the NW Angle

The first stop on the tour with Whitefeather-Spears was “cold storage.” “We pick our own cones wherever the loggers are”, she said. “Tribal members are employed to pick the cones and are paid by the bushel. The cones are then shipped to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Akeley, who separate the cones by species."  

And there is a reason why Red Lakers are hired to pick cones on the reservation. Because the pines have great cultural significance to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Whitefeather-Spears asserted. “We pick our own cones so that Red Lake maintains it owns species indigenous to Red Lake, so these pines will be as native as they were over 100 years ago."

Winter Storage

Seed storage is important because seeds will seldom be used as nature would have it...which is to fall in the Autumn, lay over the Winter, and germinate in the Spring. So the greenhouse is set up to simulate all four seasons.

Spring Storage

“We fool the seeds so that we can plant anytime of year by using cold storage,” said Whitefeather-Spears. “The freezer is Winter for the seeds., then they are moved to the refrigerator to simulate Spring, then Summer is in the greenhouse. Seeds fall in the Autumn which is their time for acclimating to the out of doors. In the near future, plans call for a shade house which will simulate Autumn.”

At the Greenhouse, workers do soil tests to make sure the seeds have exactly what they need to be healthy. “We do ph tests on the water, and then modify the water for acidity that’s proper for a particular tree so that we can provide perfect conditions,” she said.

The greenhouse is controlled by an environmental controller that regulates heat, light, cooling, shade, ventilation, and a CO2 generator. The CO2 helps get and keep the trees green and healthy. The Greenhouse has irrigation too, which can be automatic or manual. Lighting is provided by sodium arc lights. 

The Irrigation System

Red Lake continues to support “green” technology in many areas, and the Greenhouse would hardly be an exception. The three greenhouses measure 120 X 42 feet. The walls of the greenhouse are twin wall polycarbonate. All water in the greenhouse is reused, with a “flow-through” system, water is saved and then recycled. In winter the heat comes from five huge wood burning stoves.  

Five huge stoves will take four foot logs

Firewood is obtained from Red Lake loggers. The stoves are staffed 24 hours a day, temperature is tightly managed with computer controlled thermostats and blowers. Last year the greenhouse went through 200 cords of wood.  

White Spruce Seedlings

This is the first crop with the new equipment at the new Greenhouse. Currently the trees being planted and grown are Red Pine or Norway Pine, White Spruce, and Jack pine. White Pine will be added soon. Trees need to be treated individually, because like vegetables, they germinate slower or quicker, and grow at different rates. Jack pine grow faster. White spruce grow slower at 1/8” per month.  

Prepping for Planting

The old greenhouse at Redby was dismantled in 2009. It grew trees for four other tribes and for the state DNR.  All trees grown at the new Greenhouse are only for the Red Lake forest. None of the trees are for sale. In accordance with the agreement on the suit with the federal government, all trees grown at the Forest Development Center are to replace the Red Lake Indian Forest that was depleted so many years ago.

The Greenhouse employs two foresters, manager (Whitefeather-Spears), three technicians, and four greenhouse aides.


Red Lake Indian Forest Pine Restoration Plan:

Old Growth White Pine, This was Minnesota's North Woods

According to Jeff Fossen, Red Lake Forestry Director, the Red Lake Indian Forest Reforestation Plan implements the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians’ goal of restoring pine to pine site within the Red Lake Indian Forest.  


This goal reflects the Band’s independent determination that the perpetual timber crops mandated by Congress in the Act of May 18th, 1916 are of great cultural and economic significance for the Band.  

A Black Bear has used this Red Pine for a back scratcher

Pine sites are those areas capable of supporting valuable species of pine as the primary cover type, and can be determined in large measure by where pine was historically found before the massive logging efforts of the 19th and 20th century. The plan calls for reforesting approximately 1000 acres per year for 50 years.

“Many things need to be considered when analyzing this Plan”, cautioned Fossen. “One consideration, the program cannot jump to 1000 acres in one year. It will require several years to expand seedling growing facilities, accomplishing necessary site preparation, develop and implement alternative planting strategies, and gradually increase staff, including the training of band members where appropriate.”  

Employment of as many band members as possible at all levels of the Plan’s implementation will not only provide badly-needed jobs but will also increase the cultural understanding of the need for the practice of sound forestry for the Band’s future. Significant capital expenditures will also be needed in the initial years of the Plan. Availability of funds for these infrastructure expenses may affect the Band’s ability to implement the Plan as drafted.

G L O R I A

“The figure of 1000 acres per year is a goal and will vary based on a number of factors,” Fossen observed. “Harvest and conversion of existing cover types, wild fires and weather patterns will affect planting and production.” Fossen added that growing experience and changes in technology may facilitate more aggressive efforts. And finally, availability of funds and other tribal needs also may influence what may be done and when.

"The Council of Clans"

“The Council of Clans”

Red Lake Looks to Convey A Friendlier More Welcoming Image 

with Colorful New Border Signs

Signs that may be interpreted as less than "friendly" will be removed.

A new “Welcome to Red Lake Nation” sign was erected recently at the south border on Highway 89 near Seven Clans Casino, Hotel, and Event Center. The “color pencil and ink” artwork was created by Red Lake High School art teacher and artist in his own right, Patrick Desjarlait. The colorful sign measures 10 x 28 feet.  

Old Signage on County #15

According to Desjarlait, the tribe wanted to have a new sign that was more inviting, carried a message, and would serve as a symbol of pride for the tribe.

In the artwork entitled “The Council of Clans,” it appears that Migizi (Eagle) has a message - that he has called all of the major clans together. To bring them some news perhaps? Each individual may ask himself or herself, “what is the message of Migizi?”  “What message is Migizi bringing to the Anishinaabeg”? (People)

The steel frame sign took some three hours to construct. Seven aluminum panels are attached to a steel frame to form the complete sign. The lettering and artwork are vinyl covered with a coated sealer. Electrified, one light floods the entire 28 foot sign. Red Lake Builders has agreed to pitch in and pick up the expenses of lighting the sign.

Four signs with the same artwork were erected, one each at four border points. In addition to the sign on #89, there are signs at the east near Busy Corners, at the west near Fourtown, and on County Road #6 on the way to Clearbrook.

Frame for a new sign near Busy Corners

Ray Brenny, Red Lake Gaming Chief Operating Officer, said that Red Lake Gaming jumped at the chance to be involved and foot the bill for the new border signs. “We liked the look of it and thought that a nice colorful welcoming sign would enhance the casino and would be more inviting. But it’s more than that,” said Brenny, “gaming has been successful and we feel it’s important then that gaming gives back to the community, and this is just one way to do that.”

The Concept
The sign concept was born out of the annual Youth Leadership Conference held this past April at Red Lake High School. At that event, there was discussion on Ojibwe clans and tribal history. High school teacher and artist Desjarlait, and Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain, Jr. were part of that discussion.

The new sign dwarfs the more than thirty year-old border sign

“I was interested right away,” said Desjarlait. “Chairman Jourdain and I agreed to hook-up. He liked the first concept I presented, so I gave him the original artwork, signed it, and encouraged him to put it under glass, and to take care of it. You never know, it’s value could increase, especially at that price,” said Desjarlait with a smile. The work was done in color pencil and ink.

Desjarlait then called on the Tim Meyers sign company. In order to make the artwork into a sign, further design was called for. “First Tim blew up the sign, then we sat down and worked on the computer graphics,” remembered Desjarlait. “We decided what words should be included with the sign including font, size, and layout. We worked next on graphics like the floral chain.”

The new welcome sign is more than a sign, it is a work of art. A close inspection of the sign reveals much symbolism which may be why folks are attracted to the sign immediately. “That is the purpose of art, to evoke a feeling, emotion if you will,” explained Desjarlait. “It was really fun doing it.”

Obvious to the observer are Red Lake’s Seven Clans in the same order as they appear on the Red Lake Nation logo. Makwa (Bear) starts on the left, then comes Mikinaak (Turtle), followed by Awazisii (Bullhead), Waabizheshi (Marten), Migizi (Eagle), Ojiig (Fisher), and Ogiishkimanisii (Kingfisher). Migizi speaks, all others turn to listen. The clans are together as one, but each is depicted in their own respective backgrounds or environment.

Less obvious at the four corners of the artwork, Animikii (Thunderbird) is depicted four times in colors symbolic of the Medicine Wheel (and the colors of 'Man'). Left top Animikii is makade (black), lower left he is misko (red), upper right is waabishki (white), and lower right is ozaawi (yellow).

The Artist

Patrick Desjarlait is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Patrick’s dad was an artist too, Patrick Robert, died in 1972, any artwork signed after 1972 is Patrick Randy.

Patrick Desjarlait

“I learned a lot from my Dad of course,” said Desjarlait, “our technique is similar. He taught me how he used a base color at first and then put other colors on top. I see myself as carrying on my Dads work. The art has advanced but the principles are still there, and I do have my own style.”

Desjarlait sees his work as a progression from his Dad’s, a continuation.  “When I started out I felt I had some big shoes to fill and I worked at that - to be as good a painter.  On the other hand, my Dad always wanted to teach at Red Lake school, and I’ve done that, so in some senses I’ve come full circle.”

Regarding similarities between Desjarlait the elder and the younger. “Some people don’t recognize the difference in our artwork,” said Desjarlait. “I’ve found it amusing at times to be told by an art owner that they have one of Dad’s pieces and upon inspection, I find that it’s one of mine.”

“Both Dad and I have a shared pride in being Red Lakers,” Desjarlait went on. “I feel I am depicting the people of Red Lake, their customs etc., but again the art - as has the culture - have progressed or changed since my dad was on the scene. My Dad, for example, portrayed fishermen fishing for subsistence, I portray fishers as a job, a way of making money. So I move forward as the people do, as culture does. The symbolism has changed too, it grows with the culture but it carries on tradition. This is what the border sign is all about...a progression of culture expressed in art.”

“I’ve had exhibitions across the country but I have participated in no competition. More and more people are asking for “commissioned” pieces. People give me a general idea of who they are, their clan, etc. and I go with it. It pleases me that people do not seem to be disappointed. I’m confident in my work. I’m very happy with what I’m doing and the people seem to be happy with my work.”

A single lamp will illuminate the entire 28 foot sign

“I’d like to do it full time,” poses Desjarlait. “I’m trying to get a surplus of drawings so I can do more exhibitions, but the art seems to fly out the door as I finish. I’m hoping to go full time sometime soon. My wife Teri will be a big part, she’s a great sales woman with a pleasing personality, and she’s good on the computer too. She kinda does all this stuff and lets me draw.”

“I’ll have mixed emotions about giving up teaching, it’s been an important part of my life,” Desjarlait reflected. “Currently, I’m working on some murals at the high school because I want to leave something behind.”

Artist Patrick Desjarlait and daughters Janna and Dezirae 

AFTERWARD

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