Chi-Miigwech to Minogiizhgad for sharing Ojibwe language with us related to our experience this morning.
What a privilege.
This morning, Jen, Ally & I were invited by Gretchen and Minogiizhgad to his home at Bkejwanong in hopes that jigaa ninaatigo waaboo (the sap is dripping). We were joined by Language Consultants and Ojibwe Language Teachers from the the Lambton Kent District School Board. We began with a walk through the ninaatigo kaan (maple tree bush) while Minogiizhgad shared stories of Nanabush (or Nanaboozhoo) and the his discovery of maple sap as another form of Mother Earth's medicine for her people.
We even had an opportunity to explore, feel, and choose a tree to tap ourselves.
What humbled me most is realizing what makes the Anishinaabe culture so beautiful is that in everything there is meaning. All practices and interactions are done so with intent and purpose. As Jen and I taste tested the maple sugar that was created after skagamezigeng (the process of boiling sap), Minogiizhgad looked at Jen and I with a smile and said, "those smiles on your faces, there is the medicine".
We ended our morning inside one of the most intricate structures I've experienced, the Bkejwanong Teaching Lodge. The physical work that went into the Lodge is evident in every log, branch, and hand-stripped piece of bark that brought to life a design that was studied and recreated by a piece of film discovered of a Potawatomi family building their own lodge in the 1930's. An Ojibwe Language teacher who took part in the building of the Bkejwanong Teaching Lodge shared that the experience gave the Bkejwanong men a sense of purpose and community that will forever connect them to one another. The Lodge is used for ceremonial purposes and has become a prominent setting for the people of Bkejwanong to gather, embrace, and share.
Chi-Miigwech Minogiizhgad and Gretchen as well as our fellow learners this morning for an experience the deepened my understanding, admiration, and gratitude.
