Ojibwe language gathering brings speakers and learners together in Cloquet
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In Cloquet, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College’s annual Ojibwe Language Symposium brings together community for workshops, immersive games and speaker panels. The free gathering invites language learners of all abilities and levels to participate.
“I think it's one of the few opportunities that we have just to kind of gather and to celebrate the language, and then also to connect with one another,” said Michelle Goose, an Ojibwe language instructor at the community college with 15 years of experience in language revitalization. Goose is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
She said the gathering is held in collaboration between Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and local immersion programs, including the Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network, or MIIN – an organization that aims to foster Indigenous language revitalization. The organization’s acronym means “blueberry” in the Ojibwe language.
The symposium has been an annual event for seven years.
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“The original idea was just to engage community members in the language and provide an accessible opportunity for local community members to interact and speak and learn Ojibwe language here at the college,” Goose said.
Goose said around 300 people registered to attend the symposium this year, ranging from grade schoolers to community elders.
The language symposium is family-oriented and collaborative, offering something for everyone, including storytelling for youth and immersive sessions spoken entirely in Ojibwe.
As part of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College’s mission to honor Ojibwe culture and language, Good said the symposium plays an active role in that mission by providing opportunities for all community members to attend.
“It's open for all levels and for people of all backgrounds as well,” said Good.
The two-day event began on Friday morning with an opening ceremony. The symposium ends Saturday afternoon with a meal.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
