Staff
A new program, “Let’s Speak Ojibwe,” will start tomorrow morning at the Fort Frances Public Library—and it’s not too late to participate.
Library program director Andrea Avis said there’s been quite a bit of interest in the program and she’s expecting at least a dozen people to attend.
“We have had a tremendous amount of interest and phone calls,” she noted.
“We even had somebody in the legal profession wanting to come and get a better understanding of the Ojibwe language for some of the clients that they work with,” Avis added.
“We’re excited about it.”
The free six-week program, which gets underway at 10:30 a.m., aims to teach participants to speak and understand Ojibwe.
It is geared for people with little or no knowledge of the language but who would like to reconnect with the Anishinaabe identity.
It will be taught by a core group of individuals who have agreed to share their knowledge.
The program is for people of all ages, although children must be accompanied by an adult.
Non-native participants are welcome. And you do not have to pre-register.
“Come in, see what it’s all about,” urged Avis.
“We’re also asking people to share their knowledge of the Ojibwe language with us,” she added.
“If there are people who would want to help lead one of these sessions, they could come forward and find out what it’s all about tomorrow.”
A light brunch will be provided.
The “Let’ Speak Ojibwe” program ties into the library’s initiative to be inclusive to all community members, said Avis.
“We want to make community members feel like there’s something here for them at the library,” she explained.
As previously reported, the library also has been marking books and other resources in its collection with the FNMI (First Nations/Métis/Inuit) abbreviation and the four-coloured medicine wheel symbol.
These indicate they were written by an FNMI author, pertain to aboriginal subject matter, or, in some cases, translated into Ojibwe.
For more details, call the library at 274-9879 or visit www.fort-frances.com/library
