You are invited to contact me in correcting any content, spelling and/or grammatical errors I make when sharing Anishinaabemowin and pointing to resources. Thank you.

Learn Anishinaabeg Culture + Language to Honour Celtic Roots

This page is intended for those re-connecting to Celtic roots on Turtle Island. I offer resources and links to Anishinaabeg sources. I do not have or claim to have Indigenous knowledge myself. I claim only to share my ongoing and continued learning and understanding from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers as it comes into relationship with my Celtic rooting on Turtle Island.

Fàilte chridheil uile mo fine. Aanii. Boozhoo indinawaamagindog. A warm welcome to all my relations.

To be an honourable Celtic descendant on this Land requires seeking out Anishinaabe Traditional Knowledge Keepers and language.

Our Celtic ancestors honoured Land and valued the knowledge that Land taught directly to the People in relationship with the Land. For us on Turtle Island, the People are Indigenous Nations. For us in the area of the Williams Treaties, the People are Anishinaabeg, specifically the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa First Nations.

Tha na Cailleachan a’freumhachadh air Mishiike Minisi. The Cailleach are rooting on Turtle Island.

Celtic rooting on Turtle Island Island is a 4 body experience of Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical joining with the Land. This is a transformational process that will eventually be (if not already) carried out by every human being on the planet. The Land is calling us back into wholeness.

Is e an Tir mo Chridhe. Aki ayaa Inde`. The Land is my Heart.

The Land is the heart of our Celtic Ancestors. They understand this process. Our remembering is a return to the wholeness of Land + Spirit together.

Tir agus Anam fite fuaite gu bràth. Land + Spirit are inseparable forever.

Indigneous Nations on Turtle Island hold the knowledge of relationship to this Land. This page is to provide you with resources to begin the journey of honourable Celtic rooting on Turtle Island.

This page will expand and change as I encounter new &/or better resources.

Language Sources

This is a new language revitalization initiative that inspires and excites me. The messages here are so important for all of us going forward.

“This is some of what I remember; the Spirits, the Turtle saw that the white man was coming and they would be bringing bad things with them. I was told that we were put to sleep for a while to protect us from what the white man was bringing...

...the Spirits kept us sleeping a long time ago so that we could be safe. Now the Spirits are making changes, we are being given a tap on the head to wake us up. We still have our Language, we were only kept sleeping for a little while.
We need to reclaim all our gifts that we were given; ”

— Niigaanibines Don Jones, The Gigidiziiminaanig

This has been my go-to so far for Anishinaabemowin language help because they often offer audio files to hear the words spoken. I definitely benefit from audio.

Ojibwe English Dictionary

Odawa + Eastern Ojibwe Dictionary

This is a new find for me and one to look into.

Odawa + Eastern Ojibwe Dictionary

Culture / Knowledge Keepers

This feels a little off because culture and language are so intertwined. The Anishinaabeg understand their culture through language and the language is also connected to the Land.

Ways of Knowing

…recognizes that a nation-to-nation relationship is far more than a government-to-government relationship between official representatives and structures. It is a relationship between the peoples and their ways of being and knowing. It recognizes that each way of knowing is unique and equally valid.

More about Ways of Knowing

I’ve written about Turtle Lodge and Dr. Dave Nii Gaani Aki Inini before… and I likely will again. Check out the Turtle Lodge for information on culture, sacred laws and Dr. Dave’s vision for our future.

More about Turtle Lodge

This is a new resource for me and one that already is firing me up excited to learn. It feels like “YES! YES!” whenever I learn something new about Anishinaabek culture, belief, world view and language. It feels resonant and validating.

More about Pimachiowin Aki.

“The language taught me that much of what we see around us is very much alive. Also, our language is alive and has the ability to create new words. It is growing and has room for the future, and future words/terms. It comes back to that idea of everything is energy in motion. Our language is moving forward.”

— Jason Jones, Waking Up Ojibwe