My Shared Vision partner Rachelle Houle and I have been working as volunteers to place Ojibwe/English (bilingual) signage at worksites in and around Bemidji for nearly two years. Our sales pitch is that it may make Indian people feel more welcome and respected in the community, it might teach non-Indians a bit about the culture that was here long before non-Indians arrived in the late 1800's, and tourists will eat it up.
The idea stemmed from remembering the school tragedy at Red Lake. That day, I was visiting then city manager David Minke in his office and noticed a Red Lake flag on his shelf. I suggested he fly the flag at half mast outside on the city's flag pole. He flew it for a week, and I never heard such positive comments from Red Lake members as they came to realize that Bemidji was crying with them over their babies. With that came the the realization that symbolism is profound in its simplicity.
While visiting the Cabin Coffeehouse with friends, I recalled my stay in Hawaii courtesy of the United States Army. I remembered how Hawaiian culture was very much a part of every day life for all. Most streets and places have Hawaiian names. Everyone knows what a luau is, or a lanai, or ukulele...even outside Hawaii. How about Mele Kalikimaka? The words mahalo, kane, wahine, Kanaka, Haoli, malahini, and many others are used daily by residents. Bathrooms are posted as both Kane/Men and Wahine/Women or often just Hawaiian, much to my embarrassment and a wrong guess at first experience. I thought why not Ininiwag and Ikwewag on restroom doors in Bemidji?
I 'boasted' (without really knowing) "it will too work", and I'd even buy the first twenty signs for businesses that agreed to do it. To prove it, I promptly asked the proprietor of the Cabin, Noemi Ayleswoworth if she'd post the restroom signs. A few weeks later, she not only posted restroom signs, but a welcome greeting on the front door, and table tents with Ojibwe words for animals, various greetings, and how to count to ten. My twenty signs were gone in a month, and now we have over 100 sites. (Noemi now has Ojibwe written in menu sections)
Our goal now is to increase the numbers, and to also make the project irreversible by having sites post "permanent" signage. Perhaps then the Chamber will promote Bemidji as not only the community of Paul and Babe, and the Sculpture Walk, but a community that embraces diversty symbolized by the posting of bilingual signage. (Do we dare dream it to spread across northern Minnesota? Hopi in Arizona? Choctaw in Mississippi? Dakota in Dakota?)
We were very excited when Bemidji State University posted "permanent" signage early this year. The Pioneer newspaper wrote a story about it which follows my loquacious introduction. Now others are posting "permanent signage, including Sandford Medical Complex, area elementary, middle and high schools, Bemidji State Park, the Regional Event Center, and others.
We are also pleased with an unintended result of our efforts, the project has become part of the revitalization of the Ojibwe language and culture. This is important if one values diversity - as according to experts - there are fewer than 600 fluent speakers in the United States, most from Red Lake, and most of those from the traditional community of Ponemah.
We hope that one day "Boozhoo" (Hello) and Miigwech (Thank you) will be as synonymous with Bemidji as Aloha is with Hawaii.
NEW ONLINE RESOURCES OFFER OJIBWE TRANSLATIONS FOR 100 ENGLISH PHRASES
By Anne Williams Bemidji Pioneer
Shared Vision member Michael Meuers is “absolutely psyched” about what was unveiled January 3.
Ojibwe translations for nearly 100 English phrases common to northern Minnesota are now available online and on campus at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.
A poster designed by BSU’s Office of Communications and Marketing provides a list of English words and their Ojibwe equivalents in nine categories such as “Expressions,” “Trees” and “North Country.”
The audio resources and poster can be viewed online at the BSU’s American Indian Resource Center’s website,
www.bemidjistate.edu/airc/shared_vision/.
Meuers has also compiled a list of “everyday words” in English, translated to Ojibwe, with the help of Treuer. Words and phrases such as “Sure! You bet!” “wood tick,” “mosquitoes (there are many)” and “Let’s go!” are included on the list. This list can be viewed and downloaded free at sharedvisionbemidji.com.
Meuers said he was shocked at the response he received. “Our original goal was 20 businesses,” Meuers said. “We now have 112 sites participating.”
BSU has participated in the Shared Vision initiative for more than one year, with bi-lingual signs installed in a variety of locations across campus.
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| Sanford Event Center Parking Lot |
words. “Now we have Tony (Anton Treuer) demonstrating to people exactly how to pronounce these words,” Meuers said.
Meuers also said the poster and list of words will also help to keep the spelling of Ojibwe words consistent. “There’s been a problem with consistently spelling words in the past,” he said. “This is a big deal as far as saving the language and allowing fluent speakers to be able to read it.”
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| Polly Scotland |
Treuer said the added audio clips will help people say the word they are reading. “The purpose of any writing system is not necessarily for people who already know the language, but it’s for people trying to learn it,” Treuer said.
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| Headwaters Science Center |
Meuers said some people have forgotten that Ojibwe is the indigenous language of Minnesota. He said he has been asked why more emphasis has not been placed on Norwegian and German languages.“Ojibwe is the indigenous language of northern Minnesota,” he said. “Norwegian and German are imported languages. I want to help preserve the language. When you lose a language, you lose culture. When you lose culture, who knows what you lose.”
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| "Hello and Welcome to Bemidji Middle School" |
“I’m just psyched because this is a major step in making the Ojibwe language a part of the Bemidji community,” Meuers added.
