Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Learning Anishinaabemowin with Isadore Toulouse
Anishinaabemowin champion Isadore Toulouse talks about the state of Anishinaabemowin in 2024: Are there enough fluent Anishinaabemowin speakers today to carry the language on? Is it important to know how to speak the language, and should we know how to write it too? What are best ways to learn the language?
Isadore Toulouse Bebamikawe has been involved in Anishinaabemowin promotion for over 40 years. A member of the Turtle clan, from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Isadore grew up immersed in an Anishinaabemowin-speaking environment. He was inspired to devote much of his life to championing the language. Isadore has taught Anishinaabemowin at all levels, including with Lakehead University’s Indigenous Language Instructors Program, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ Culture Department. He has created the Kidwenan Ojibwe language book and CD, co-translated several children’s books, and his community language classes can be found on YouTube. In 2022, Isadore was honoured with an Anishinabek Lifetime Achievement Award in the category of Culture.
Isadore supports the Anishinabek Nation’s Anishinabemowin initiatives by teaching weekly language lessons to UOI staff, by providing simultaneous translation, and by serving as a member of the Anishinabek Nation’s Anishinaabemowin Revitalization Committee.
Access Isadore's language classes here:
https://www.gtbindians.org/anishinaabemowin.asp
Episode transcript: