Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa: Talking to People

NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun and Aaron Bowerman share ways to address homophobia through the use of inclusive language and policies, by ensuring that Two Spirit people are welcome at ceremony, and by supporting Two-Spirit youth. This is the third of four podcasts that Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa has created in collaboration with members of the Anishinabek Nation’s Two-Spirit, Two-Heart, Indigenous Queer N...

NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun and Aaron Bowerman, members of the Anishinabek Nation’s Two-Spirit, Two-Heart, Indigenous Queer Nation Advisory Council , talk about their understandings of Two Spirit histories, and how Two-Spirit people traditionally had highly respected community roles and responsibilities.  Today, Two Spirit people are reclaiming their rightful place within our communities, with the help...

NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun and Aaron Bowerman, members of the Anishinabek Nation’s Two-Spirit, Two-Heart, Indigenous Queer Nation Advisory Council , talk about reclaiming Two-Spirit terminology that is embedded in Anishinaabe language and ceremony. Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa has collaborated with the Anishinabek Nation’s Two-Spirit, Two-Heart, Indigenous Queer Nation Advisory Council to create a series...

Mike Restoule, Chair of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, shares why the Anishinabek asserted the need for a treaty in the 1840s, how the Anishinabek First Nations came together to create the present-day Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, and why our Treaty relationship will continue to be important in the future. In 1850, Anishinaabeg entered into two treaties with the British Crown:...

Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, Dale Benoit-Zohr, and John Paul Kohoko share their knowledge of mooz harvesting and how climate change is impacting the mooz. Perry, Dale and John Paul attended the Anishinabek Nation's first Mooz Maawanjiding , a Moose Symposium, in Ketegaunseebee, Garden River First Nation.  The goal of this gathering, hosted by our Lands and Resources Department , was to create connecti...

Ookomis Donna Debassige shares her experiences as a survivor of the Spanish Indian Residential School for Girls. We talk about the effects that residential schools, government policies and religion had on her community, and her advocacy work. Ookomis Donna also shares her hopes and expectations for the September 30th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, for both her fellow survivors and for...

Stan Cloud, Director of the Anishinabek Nation Social Development and Koganaawsawin , shares how this organization is dedicated to reasserting Anishinabek ways of caring for our families and communities.      Launched in 2019, Koganaawsawin is a collective body established by Anishinabek First Nations and Indigenous child well-being agencies to support and further enhance the delivery of child, yo...

Barbara Ann Nolan is the Anishinabek Nation’s Language Commissioner, our Anishinaabemowin E-niigaanwidood. We talked about her extensive involvement in Anishinaabemowin revitalization, starting in the 1970s, to the community efforts she's seeing across Anishinabek territory today. As a vibrant first speaker of Nishnaabemowin, Barbara advocates for an uplifting approach to language learning, throug...

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...

The Biinaagami Initiative is creating multimedia resources rooted in Indigenous knowledges to educate, connect, and promote action for the protection of the Great Lakes, which are under threat from pollution, climate change, and invasive species.  Biinaagami is a collaboration between the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and Canadian water advocacy charity Swim Drink Fish.  Our guests, Meredith...

Our Anishinabek Nation Health Transformation team has been meeting with First Nations' leadership and our health care community to talk about a vision for an Anishinabek health care system that’s controlled by our First Nations, where we make the decisions about how money is spent and what kind of health services and programming are offered. In this episode, Phyllis Williams and John Scherebnyj up...

The Anishinabek Nation Chief-in-Assembly recently elected a new Grand Council Chief and Deputy Council Chief.  For over two decades,  Anishinabek Elders and Knowledge Keepers have been reclaiming and refining the Nation's Traditional Stand-up Election process.  In this episode, listen in to how Anishinaabemowin, songs, teachings and ceremony are woven into the process that played out on the Grand...

What does the Anishinabek Nation’s Lands and Resources Department do? And how is critical minerals mining impacting Anishinabek Nation member communities? In this episode, Lands and Resources Department Director Jason Laronde shares how this department supports Anishinabek Nation member First Nations to use and manage their lands and natural resources in ways that benefit them. A global transition...

In this episode, Barbara Nolan, Anishinabek Nation Anishinaabemowin Language Commissioner, shares a short Anishinaabemowin language lesson about the meaning of Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa, the name she gifted to this podcast. We then hear from three Anishinabek Nation leaders, who introduce us to the Anishinabek Nation and its governance structure. They share how our leadership is guided by our trad...