| Summary: | This is a four-part mini book series that has been created for level one readers and follows the four seasons. The mini-book series will begin with Spring and will progress through the seasons that follow. There are 5 pages in each part, included are a title page introducing the season with Aanii, and four additional pages with illustrations showing different aspects of what Anishnaabek does in that season. Each page consists of two or more words, that are not necessarily complete sentences so you, the teacher, will have the opportunity to engage the student in creating their own story while learning the Anishinaabe words. The dialect used is from the Eastern Manitoulin region in Ontario Canada. Each slide comes with a teacher prompt. I suggest the teacher say the word in Anishinaabemowin first and students repeat the word several times. To listen to the voice-over, double-click on the thumb tack and you will hear how the language is being spoken. There is also a glossary in the back with translations. Each translated word is broken down into vowel-constant clusters of syllables that will help with the pronunciation of the Anishnaabe words. The double vowel writing system is used in the text. An explanation of the Double vowel structure along with the vowel song is provided so the teacher can practice with the students before going through the reader or for practice at any time. This will help enhance the student’s pronunciation of each word. Aanii, Boozhoo. Mino shki yaaying giizhigo kwe ndizhikaaz. Mkwa ndodem, Wiikwemkoong ndoonjibaa. Nswi shkode bimaadizijig yaawag oode Wiikwemkoong. Hello, Beautiful New Sky Woman is the name given to me. I am from the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. The Three Fires Confederacy; Ojibway, Odawa and the Potawatomi groups of people are there in Wiikwemkoong. I grew up in Wiikwemkoong and much of my Indigenous knowledge and how I see the world come from the place where I grew up and the people who raised me. Aside from myself and my younger sister, my grandparents raised many of my other cousins and extended family as well. As an Anishnaabe kwe, language maintenance and revitalization are crucial to me because it is a part of who I am. Anishinaabemowin is gift of expression given to me by G’zheminidoo (The Great Spirit). Knowing my language allows me to speak and express myself in a different way like no other language. Anishnaabemowin is a very expressive language that provides me my identity and a sense of pride (McIvor, 2005). It provides me with a unique worldview of who I am as an Anishnaabekwe living on Turtle Island (Battiste & Henderson, 2000). My language connects me back to my history, culture, the land and my ancestors. The key to maintaining and revitalizing Anishnaabemowin (the Ojibway language) is to expose children to their heritage language when they are young. Language and culture are closely linked, and for Anishnaabe people, our knowledge, traditions, values, and our identity are in our language (Morcom, 2017). If we lose our heritage language, we too will become lost, and so will our connection to who we are as Anishinaabe (Norris, 1998; Corbiere, 2000; Pitawanakwat, 2009).
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