Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake

145 Pages·2015·6.955 MB·English

by  Dorothy Dora Whipple, Wendy Makoons Geniusz (editor), Brendan Fairbanks (editor)

Chi-mewinzha

Chi-mewinzha
Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake
u
Dorothy Dora Whipple,
Mezinaashiikwe
Edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz and Brendan Fairbanks
Illustrations by Annmarie Geniusz
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges the generous assis-
tance provided for the publication of this book by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures.
Stories recorded by Errol Geniusz, Annmarie Geniusz, Mary Geniusz, and Wendy
Makoons Geniusz.
The original audio recordings of Ojibwe Elder Dorothy Dora Whipple telling her
stories have kindly been made available online and free of charge through the
Ojibwe People’s Dictionary. http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu.
Copyright 2015 by Dora Whipple
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechan-
ical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401–2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Whipple, Dorothy Dora.
Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe stories from Leech Lake / Dorothy Dora Whipple,
Mezinaashiikwe; edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz and Brendan Fairbanks; illus-
trations by Annmarie Geniusz.
Text in English and in Ojibwe.
ISBN 978-0-8166-9726-7 (pb)
1. Whipple, Dorothy Dora. 2. Ojibwa Indians—Folklore. 3. Ojibwa Indians—
History. 4. Ojibwa Indians—Social life and customs. 5. Leech Lake Indian Reser-
vation (Minn.)—Folklore. 6. Leech Lake Indian Reservation (Minn.)—Social life
and customs. 7. Ojibwa language—Texts. I. Geniusz, Wendy Djinn, editor. II. Fair-
banks, Brendan, editor. III. Title. IV. Title: Ojibwe stories from Leech Lake.
E99.C6W47 2015
398.2089’97333—dc23 2015006579
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction: Stories of a Leech Lake Elder
Wendy Makoons Geniusz ix
Editors’ Remarks
Brendan Fairbanks xv
Chi-mewinzha
Ogii-waabamaawaan Chi-ozagaskwaajimen 2
They Saw a Big Leech 3
Bagijigeyan Asemaa 6
When You Make a Tobacco Offering 7
Ziigwan, Niibin, Dagwaagin, Biboon 12
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Version 1) 13
Ziigwan, Niibin, Dagwaagin, Biboon 18
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Version 2) 19
Iskigamizigeng 26
Boiling Sap 27
Ji-bagijiged O-miigaazod 34
To Make an Offering When He Goes to War 35
Agoodwewin 38
Snaring 39
Gii-pi-bajiishka’ondwaa 40
When They Came to Give Them Shots 41
Gii-twaashin Mikwamiing 44
He Fell through the Ice 45
Shut Up! 48
Shut Up! 49
Bagida’waang Zaaga’iganiing 52
Fishing with a Net on a Lake 53
Wii-maji-doodawaad Awiiya A’aw Gookooko’oo 56
When the Owl Treated Someone Bad 57
Agoodweng Waaboozoon 60
Snaring a Rabbit 61
Manoominike-zaaga’igan 64
Rice Lake 65
Gii-maazhendam Gii-nanawizid 70
He Was Upset When He Was Empty-Handed 71
Ogii-miigaadaanaawaa I’iw Waazakonenjigan Imaa Atood
Miinawaa Iw Aazhogan 74
They Fought to Have That Stoplight and Bridge
Put In 75
Imbiindaakoojige Imaa Asiniing 80
I Made an Offering There on the Rock 81
Makwa Ingii-pimaaji’ig 86
Bear Saved My Life 87
Notes on Orthography 91
Transcription Notes
Brendan Fairbanks 95
Glossary 115

Introduction:
Stories of a Leech Lake Elder
Wendy Makoons Geniusz
Dorothy Dora Whipple, Mezinaashiikwe, is one of the most amaz-
ing women I know. She is a grandmother, with five generations of
descendants living all over the country, although she adds that most
of her grandchildren live in Minnesota and Seattle, Washington. She
is a fluent Ojibwe speaker who consciously held on to and continued
to speak her language when many people of her generation were
unable to do so. As she tells us in one of her stories, she remembers
when one of her older sisters came home from residential boarding
school unable to communicate with her siblings because she no
longer spoke Ojibwe. Despite living in poverty and often having no
assistance, Dorothy fed, clothed, raised, and loved many children.
When I asked her what she wanted to include in this Introduction,
she said, “I raised a lot of kids, mostly my grandkids.” She had seven
children, but she lost three, one boy and two girls. She formally
adopted one of her grandchildren, and she was a foster mother for
many years. She is ninety-four years old now, but I doubt that most
people who meet her would know it. She is incredibly active, still
living in her own home, and continues to care for her family, as she
has for decades.
The Ojibwe People of Leech Lake
As she has expressed to us several times, Dorothy sees Chi-mewinzha
(which means “long ago”) as a collection of her stories, not a book
about individual members of her family or about more general Ojibwe ix