Visiting as Indigenous Activism: Language, Knowledge and History in Urban Anishinaabeg Communities ‘We’re not losing our language, our language is losing us.’
– Joe Auginaush (White Earth Anishinaabe). Using the Indigenous theories and methodologies developed by activist-intellectuals such as Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Maori) and Taiaiake Alfred (Haudenosaunee), Anishinaabeg and Métis community activists created the Nkwejong in spring 2009 to document, maintain and revitalize Indigenous history, language, and sovereignty in Lansing, MI. Working alongside community elders, Nkwejong intends to record and document the multiple stories (histories) as told by community-members of Michigan’s urban Native communities. To date, the project has focused on the stories of Anishinaabemowin-speakers in and around the Lansing area. From this pilot project, it is hoped that similar modules will be established in Detroit and Grand Rapids. Following the advice of Anishinaabeg elders, Nkwejong is predicated on the act of listening! In turn, by listening to our elders we will hopefully begin to follow the lead of Maori intellectual Linda Tuhiwai Smith, who outlines an Indigenous research agenda as an anti-colonial and emancipatory tool for Native peoples. By engaging with Anishinaabemowin language-speakers, Nkwejong uses contemporary technologies and media to bring traditional stories to Anishinaabeg urban youth. The project specifically addresses community responses to (continued) colonization and how Indigenous communities have adapted to settler colonialism and capitalist economics. This conversation/workshop, created specifically for the US Social Forum, will include the stories and experiences of the various parties involved in the project. By sharing our experiences with conference participants, we hope to engage in open-ended dialogue and possibly create networks with other Native educators, activists, academics, and community leaders.
Las Visitas Como Forma de Activismo Indígena: El Idioma, El Conocimiento y la Historia en las Comunidades Urbanas Anishinaabeg ‘We’re not losing our language, our language is losing us.’
– Joe Auginaush (White Earth Anishinaabe). Using the Indigenous theories and methodologies developed by activist-intellectuals such as Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Maori) and Taiaiake Alfred (Haudenosaunee), Anishinaabeg and Métis community activists created the Nkwejong in spring 2009 to document, maintain and revitalize Indigenous history, language, and sovereignty in Lansing, MI. Working alongside community elders, Nkwejong intends to record and document the multiple stories (histories) as told by community-members of Michigan’s urban Native communities. To date, the project has focused on the stories of Anishinaabemowin-speakers in and around the Lansing area. From this pilot project, it is hoped that similar modules will be established in Detroit and Grand Rapids. Following the advice of Anishinaabeg elders, Nkwejong is predicated on the act of listening! In turn, by listening to our elders we will hopefully begin to follow the lead of Maori intellectual Linda Tuhiwai Smith, who outlines an Indigenous research agenda as an anti-colonial and emancipatory tool for Native peoples. By engaging with Anishinaabemowin language-speakers, Nkwejong uses contemporary technologies and media to bring traditional stories to Anishinaabeg urban youth. The project specifically addresses community responses to (continued) colonization and how Indigenous communities have adapted to settler colonialism and capitalist economics. This conversation/workshop, created specifically for the US Social Forum, will include the stories and experiences of the various parties involved in the project. By sharing our experiences with conference participants, we hope to engage in open-ended dialogue and possibly create networks with other Native educators, activists, academics, and community leaders.
Nkwejong Project is committed to maintaining, documenting and revitalizing Indigenous history, language, culture and sovereignty for urban Anishinaabeg in Michigan.
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