Last spring, with the help of a few books and some patient Ojibwe speakers, I spent about 5 weeks starting to learn some Ojibwe. Other things came up when summer came, and Ojibwe slipped to the back of my mind. This fall I've started a beginning Ojibwe course at Bemidji State University, thanks to the State of Minnesota which allows us seniors (over the age of 66) to audit courses at our universities without cost. After a few months, I hope to be at the point where I can have a pleasant conversation with a fluent speaker, without too many long pauses to try his patience.
After 3 weeks in class, I made the video you can see below. As you can see from this video, I'm technologically challenged. I don't know how to edit yet, and I finally learned how to shut the thing off. Maybe my grandson Alex will teach me some more about cameras, but it's not easy to get old "nishoomis" (my grandfather) into the 21st century.
The translation is printed below the video.
Hello, my name is David. I live north of Bemidji and I speak Ojibwe, just a little. Often I go over there in Bemidji. I go to the university there. If you see me there in Bemidji, let's talk the language of the Anishinaabe. Well then, take care and thanks for listening.
