The Department was proud to host the Ojibwe Language Research and Pedagogy Workshop, made possible through funding from the Social Science and Humanities Collaboratory. This two-day event brought together a cross-rank, interdisciplinary group of scholars with a united goal: to support and grow the presence of the Ojibwe language on campus and across the state of Michigan.
The workshop featured the expertise of Dr. Mary Ann Naokwegijig-Corbiere, a fluent Ojibwe speaker and renowned teacher. Dr. Corbiere, who led the Ojibwe language program at the University of Sudbury from 1989 until her retirement in 2021, has made significant contributions to the preservation and teaching of the Ojibwe language. Her collaboration with linguist Rand Valentine produced the invaluable online resource, Nishnaabemwin: Odawa and Eastern Ojibwe Dictionary.
During the workshop, Dr. Corbiere addressed several critical topics, including translation issues between English and Ojibwe, distinctive language pedagogy techniques compared to mainstream Indo-European language courses, and the incorporation of Indigenous culture and methodologies into language instruction. She also provided practical insights into the content, teaching methodologies, and scaffolding necessary for effective Ojibwe language pedagogy.
Workshop attendees included a diverse group, such as our current Ojibwe language instructors, Alphonse Pitawanakwat and Kayla Gonyon; assistant professor Cherry Meyer; instructional learning senior in the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) Phill Cameron; graduate student researcher Anna Whitney; and undergraduate student researchers/Ojibwe language students Skyelar Raiti, Aaron Miller, and Gnaajiwi Anderson.
This event underscored the university’s commitment to fostering the study and preservation of Indigenous languages, supporting both current educational practices and future initiatives. The shared knowledge and experiences from this workshop will undoubtedly enhance our campus community's linguistic and cultural richness.
