Ojibwe Essay

Importance of the Ojibwe Language to the Aboriginal Culture In this paper I will be discussing the importance and how it is beneficial for the Ojibwe language to their culture. I personally feel that without the Ojibwe language there is no culture to the Aboriginals. It is important to have knowledge about their culture and better understanding of the traditions and their beliefs and the respects of them. Learning about the language and having a better understanding of it, benefits Aboriginal communities and schools as well. Educating young children, the language benefits them for a greater success in the future for employment and educated on substance abuse. Furthermore, if the language is shown and learned, it’ll be a part of their identity.
Without the Ojibwe language there is no culture based on my personal thoughts and views. I feel the Ojibwe language is important to the Aboriginal culture because the language can increase peoples understanding and respect for their ways of life and culture. The language has so much meaning to the culture, it’s a way of having connections to their lands, waters, plants and animals. As written in the book “The elders said that Kitche Manitou created the world in a certain order; first the physical world of sun, moon, earth and stars; second, the plant world of trees, flowers, grasses and fruits. Plants were therefore prior to animals and to the Anishnabeg. They could exist alone; they were not dependent upon other beings for their existence of well-being.” (Johnston, 1926)
Learning the language is a way of bonding and communicating with others.
Throughout the centuries Aboriginals would gather in a circle sharing stories, their beliefs and lessons in life to maintain their historical record and keep their culture alive. Aboriginals also gained environmental knowledge and understood the life cycles throughout the seasons. Whether it was the time of year to hunt and trap for either food or clothing, gathering berries and fruits, harvest, and digging certain roots for medicines, these were ways of survival to pay respects to Mother Earth. These traditions and teachings are an important part of the Aboriginal culture which are still taught
today.
Furthermore, I believe there are benefits for the culture to have knowledge of the Ojibwe language because Aboriginal education would help improve the communities and schools. Starting either youth or adults in school using the Ojibwe language would help them become more successful in the future. When Aboriginals learn the language they would perhaps feel more a sense of belonging and connected. Therefore, students would turn out to be more involved in school with higher confidence and self-esteem. Being more involved would create better outcomes with youth literacy. Also, if children that start at a young age, learning their culture, their heritage and the language at a First Nations school, they would likely attend school and classes regularly which would eventually lead them to a greater success with employment such as language transition and cultural tourism.
Having that said, if children were to attend school often, communities would improve significantly if Aboriginals were educated about substance abuse.
A study shows that “Aboriginal youth are at a significant risk of becoming involved in substance abuse. Studies have shown that youth of First Nations, Métis and Inuit descent are of the highest abusers of illicit drug use in Canada.” (Scott, 1997; Framework Sub-committee of the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation & Thatcher, 2000). Increasing the knowledge that youth have about drug and alcohol abuse would give them a better understanding and educated decision if they were presented in a situation where they were involved in that state. These are reasons as to why I believe the Ojibwe language is beneficial to the Aboriginals and their communities, having knowledge of the language can help improve education and having education would lead to teachings about
substances.
Next, the Ojibwe language is important to the culture because it identifies Aboriginal’s culture through their national heritage and background as well. Whether it’s an Elder, speaker, or family member that has significant knowledge of the language, it’s a way to have bonding and having connection to their cultural history. The culture and language together is what creates identity, “For many people who live in traditional communities or who have deep and clear roots within them, identity can be, at least in some ways, straightforward. They identify themselves within a particular family, clan, band, or nation and may prefer to use the traditional terms and names that locate them within those circumstances. When introducing themselves, people may identify themselves by their genealogy, noting parents, grandparents, and more distant ancestors, by clan, or by the traditional name of their community or nation. Those identifications, however, often have deeper dimensions and reflect a strong and spiritual connection to the land and other cultural traditions.” (Kesler, 2009). Based on my research, the term of culture is the identity of an individual’s language significantly.
In conclusion, my personal opinion and perspective is the Ojibwe language cannot have a connection too their heritage and culture without the language. Although the language was almost lost, there are still many speakers throughout Canada to re-claim and teach their knowledge of the language to Aboriginal individuals. There are many benefits and positive outcomes for Aboriginal communities to learn their language and their historical heritage and beliefs. Having a sense of belonging can also create a positive life for their well-being. If the language is taught on a daily basis to Aboriginals, eventually they will regain their identity and have more knowledge of their traditions and ceremonies.