Many o f us are fluent speakers in an Aboriginal language o f our people. For the past
41 years I have been a speaker of the Ojibwe/Odawa language. I learn new ideas
about teaching when visiting various people who struggle with the same issues as I
do concerning language retention and revitalization. In order to become a fluent
speaker ofOjibwe, or any other language, you must be in an environment where the
language is spoken all the time. In my home community there were many opportunities to speak the language. When I started school all the students were speakers o f the
language. If we were caught speaking the language in school, we were punished
severely. As you learn the language, you get a better knowledge of the culture.