Ojibwe-language radio drama airing in January

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This article was published 30/12/2020 (1751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An educational Ojibwe-language radio program co-created by local organizations will premiere on NCI FM later this month.

Aakoziiwigamig: An Ojibwe Radio Drama was produced by the University of Winnipeg, Native Communications Inc., Indigenous Languages of Manitoba, and Mazinaate Publishing Partnership, and will air Wed., Jan. 13.

The program was created in response to the cancellation of language classes which could no longer be offered due to the pandemic.

“The main goal is for people to hear the Ojibwe language, and to share it with the community of Ojibwe speakers and non-Ojibwe speakers,” said  Lorena Fontaine, Indigenous academic lead at the University of Winnipeg, said.

“We have a language lesson that will take place either before or after the radio drama so people can get familiar with Ojibwe words and how to pronounce them.”

Although she could not reveal the plot of the drama, Fontaine said the show takes place in a hospital, where a person may encounter many Ojibwe dialects. An episode, each about 10 minutes long, will air every second Wednesday until June.

There are around 26 cast members who are either fluent or learned Ojibwe as a second language. The scriptwriter, Patricia Ningewance, from Ontario, is “a leader in Ojibwe teaching and translation in Canada.”

Fontaine said one of the challenges of producing the show has been accommodating pandemic restrictions. Because participants cannot gather, their voices were recorded over Zoom instead.

Working with elders has also been a challenge, Fontaine explained, due to the health risks associated with close contact.

“We said a prayer at the beginning of the radio drama, and we have to find a way to give tobacco to the elder without being in contact with them,” Fontaine said. “There’s just a lot of small things to consider that are very important for this radio drama.”

Fontaine said developing the program has been a source of joy for those involved because it’s enabled them to practise and learn about Ojibwe and its various dialects.

“Even when (cast members) were stuck on pronunciation, there was a lot of laughter. And it wasn’t a mean laughter, it was like a joyous laughter. And people often didn’t want to leave the Zoom sessions, because it felt good to be around each other — even though it was by Zoom — and listening to the language.”

Fontaine said if the show is successful, they’d like to develop another one in Cree.