Ojibwe: An Endangered Minnesota Language

The Ojibwe language, spoken by the Ojibwe or Chippewa people, is one of the world's imperiled languages. It is also one of the early native tongues spoken within the territory now known as Minnesota. And this Monday, a documentary about the steps taken within the state to revitalize this dying language will debut on TPT 2.

Leech Lake Ojibwe Delegation to Washington 1899

Dr. Anton Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is not a native Ojibwe speaker, having studied and learned the language as an adult. But now he has dedicated his work to interviewing the last remaining "first speakers" or "functional speakers" - those for whom Ojibwe is their first language. It is estimated that there are fewer than a thousand of these fluent Ojibwe speakers left in the United States and most of them are older than age 70.

One of the main reasons that indigenous languages like Ojibwe have nearly disappeared throughout North America is due to early policies within the United States to assimilate Native Americans. After taking their lands, the government banned the practice of native traditional religious practices and established "English only" boarding schools which children were required to attend. The native languages that once echoed across the United States were being systematically scrubbed from the cultural landscape.

Chippewa baby at a Minnesota rice farm, 1940

Produced and edited by John Whitehead, "First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language," is a film that documents the rescue and revitalization of the Ojibwe language that is taking place in Minnesota. The film follows Treuer, and others like him, who are driving the Ojibwe language resurgence. Many of them studied the language at the University of Minnesota, Bemidji State University, and with tribal elders. They are working to undo some of the damage done to their culture by establishing Ojibwe language immersion charter schools. Some already exist in the state at in Leech Lake and in Minneapolis.

Through this model, it is hoped that a new generation of "first speakers" will be established, children for whom Ojibwe is a primary language. Then the language, and the culture, may not be lost and stand a chance of surviving, to be passed on to the next generation.

"First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language" is a production of Twin Cities Public Television and will debut on November 1 at 8 p.m. on TPT 2.

Additionally, Dr. Anton Treuer’s book “Ojibwe in Minnesota” was recently named as the “Best Read in Minnesota 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Part of the “The People of Minnesota” book series, “Ojibwe in Minnesota” is just 122 pages, but is intended to help people understanding the complicated history of the Ojibwe people – their language, culture, economics and legalities.

[This article has been updated to include corrected information. Though Dr. Treuer is a main subject of the film, he did not produce it. It was produced and edited by John Whitehead. Thank you, John, for your comment!]

Haiku News - October 27, 2010

Tweak

When Tweak did it, it
was nothing. When Tom did it,
he made the paper.

A rare event, when
the phrase "safe in the doghouse"
is arranged in print.

Effects of the world's
most complex art swindle still
ripples through the trade.

Microsoft trails its
competition in games, phones,
PCs... everything.

Posh or flawed, aloof
or aggressive, all canines
are welcome at Stay.

A large asteroid
is on a collision-course
with Earth - don't panic!

When dolphin species
meet, they may be attempting
to communicate.

Rare Honus Wagner
baseball card is imperfect,
but still of value.

Melodramatic
mailer strikes at sense of smell,
slams sense of good taste.

Meditation can
boost focus, empathy, and
bliss... permanently.

Friday Photography - Forgotten Roses

Pink roses on the parlor table wilt,

unquenched despite her steady flow of tears.

Though the contents of her heart has been spilt,

she knows a new love will quiet her fears.

Forgotten Roses

Haiku News - October 19, 2010

Rock band prepared to
face the music; realized
they are not U2.

Lucky dog, Mia,
has a new leash on life now
that she has faced death.

If the animal
has no hope of escaping,
you're not a hunter.

When his oil was changed,
the FBI's GPS
device was revealed.

"Could you please keep the
noise down? My food doesn't taste
as good as it should."

Fiji has lost its
"birth certificate" claiming
its independence.

An unexpected
package came in the mail from
the laptop bandit.

Stephen Colbert told
Congress that farm labor is
"really, really hard."

The relationship
between squirrels and dogs is
a confounding dance.

A grandmother and
a grandmother's ring both lost,
then found once again.

Mark Twain: Still on Top 100 Years Later

Mark Twain’s final book, The Autobiography of Mark Twain, has hit the No. 1 spot on Amazon due to an huge influx of preorders. The book was kept sealed away in the University of California archives for 100 years after the author’s death, as per his request. He died on April 21, 1910.

The unconventional author of course couldn't just write his autobiography like everyone else. Starting at about 1870, he made many attempts at starting it: he just hadn't gotten that far on the task. Then, more than 30 years later in 1904, the perfect method of autobiography writing came to him:

"Start it at no particular time of your life; wander at your free will all over your life. . . . It is the first time in history that the right plan has been hit upon."

And that's exactly what he did.  From 1906 to 1909, he spent many mornings in bed, dictating occurrences in his life to a secretary. Typescripts were made so Twain made notes and corrections, telling a future collaborator what to include and what not to. After his youngest daughter died in 1909, he stopped - just four months before his death.

At the time of his death, more than 2,500 pages were written, and scholars at first thought the collection was just another unfinished project by a writer notorious for them. But for six years, editors at Mark Twain Papers at University of California Berkeley worked to reconstruct the autobiography just as Twain wished it to be.  The autobiography is highly unconventional and very modern in many ways, as it shakes the format up from the usual linear story from birth to death.

Long, long before the writing was completed, Twain was quite pleased with himself and his idea to create the autobiography. In 1906, he said:

"The form of this book is one of the most memorable literary inventions of the ages. . . . It ranks with the steam engine, the printing press & the electric telegraph. I am the only person who has ever found out the right way to build an autobiography."

And modern minds have agreed:

Robert Hirst, general editor of the Bancroft Library's Mark Twain Papers and Project at Berkeley, says, "The thrill of seeing the entire work, as he intended it to be, is extraordinary."

Ben Griffin, associate editor of the Mark Twain Papers, calls it "the most complicated and vexing textual situation I've ever heard about." Hirst says, "It was a fascinating puzzle, puzzling beyond belief."

So what is inside the book so long held back from the public?  Twain was already pretty open about his feelings, but he let's loose quite a bit in his autobiography. This caused quite a stir among the friends and family he would inevitably end up writing about - hence the 100-year wait! The print embargo was also an extraordinary publicity ploy, as pre-orders have been pouring in. He truly was a man before his time.

In November, the 760-page first volume will be heading to the hands of eager readers. Within five years, two more volumes will appear, and the entire work, with variants and notes, will be available online.

Friday Photography - Project Dog & Calvin

Still finishing sorting through my photos, but I'm almost done, really. In the meantime, here is a photo of our Siberian Husky, Calvin, which I submitted to Project Dog this summer.

Calvin - Siberian Husky

Isn't he handsome? I assure you, he isn't always this well-behaved, but he is always this pretty. And he knows it.

Also, a little bit about Project Dog:

Project DOG is a new grassroots movement aimed at bringing together the worlds of purebred and rescue dogs through a creative, modern dog photography project. The quest is simple. To find and photograph all 150+ AKC recognized dog breeds and their rescue dog counterparts. What exactly does this mean? …For every AKC breed photographed, a rescue dog of the same breed will be given the same royal photographic treatment. The result?  An awesome book and new dog social networking/resource website.

 Project Dog is created by Kira Stackhouse.

Haiku News - October 11, 2010

Hey, America:
Freedom lies in beating our
fossil-fuel habit.

The best usage of
movie titles in a news
headline I've seen yet.

It has been more than
seven years, but this case still
scares, fascinates me.

Parable, fable,
somewhere in this story is
an analogy.

People without a
bank account nickel-and-
dimed into the grands.

Prudently placed Vote
Twenty-Ten sign spares eyes from
naked book-thrower.

Skeletons from the
closet maybe sometimes are
sold at garage sales.

The Minnesota Twins'
"Break a Bat, Plant a Tree" will
create a forest.

Nathaniel David
was born at 10:10 PM
on 10/10/10. 10.

Pessimistic dogs?
Sounds more like a band name than
part of a headline.

Friday Photography - Newly Wed

I've been away for a long time. A nearly two month hiatus! But I was working hard and preparing for a Las Vegas vacation and a wedding ceremony! My husband and I married on Monday, September 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM!

Newly Wed

Now that that stress, beautiful ceremony, and four day party in Vegas is past me, I can once again start partaking in hobbies like blogging and photography! I would do it again in a heartbeat and it was fun as hell, but I'm glad for my life to be somewhat back to normal now! Let the regular routine resume! :)

Haiku News - October 5, 2010

With a little help
from rogue crocheters, a fence
in Denver blooms bright.

Monkey guards patrol
India's Commonwealth Games.
No, seriously.

I'm glad I stayed at
the Monte Carlo instead
of the Death Ray Inn.

Tantalizing facts
about Americans' sex
lives revealed to all.

Zucchini has the
power to repel both Sams
and angry black bears.

When you attempt to
break a world record, make sure
Guinness really cares.

Hope this case sets a
precedent: Uniformed cops
are public figures.

What might have been if
the first computer worked in
eighteen-three-seven?

Bad changes in the
earth's water cycle follow
a predicted flow.

The exposition
and the evolution of
the Tea Party group.

Also:

Langology news
in haiku form to amuse
and entertain you.