Reviving The Ojibwe Language At Annual Ojibwe Language And Culture Camp

A camp that aims to revive the Ojibwe language is held annually in the summer for kids in Ponemah. This year, it took place at the Ponemah Round House.

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians hosts the three-day Ojibwe language and culture camp for kids and their families. It allows them to immerse themselves in the culture of the Anishinaabe and the language.

“This is the last place where we have this language so it’s important that we maintain and revitalize what it is. Otherwise, it’ll be lost forever … what the camp is all about is making sure that these kids are aware of who they are, where they come from, and really just being proud of that,” Alisha Gehlert, the Economic Development & Planning Director, said.

The camp featured activities like lacrosse, moccasin games, pow-wow zumba, medicine pouch making and a demonstration of outside bread for campers. It’s put on by Red Lake Chemical Health and the Economic Development & Planning department. There were around 60 kids participating in the camp this year.

“It teaches us how to do different things. We do activities in the start of the day and it shows us our cultural ways before we got all the modern-day technology,” said camper Jaysel.

The camp is part of Red Lake Nation’s revitalization efforts of the Ojibwe language.