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for “lake” where most speakers of Minnesota Ojibwe use zaaga’igan. In addition, aniw is used in place of iniw. Archie also seemed to prefer using the first to third person conjunct transitive animate verb paradigm -agig rather than –agwaa: for example, waabamagig (when I see them) rather than waabamagwaa (when I see them). These forms are used by many speakers interchangeably, but the patterns of Archie’s language usage and pronunciation are noteworthy. Archie and his contemporaries wanted all dialects of the Ojibwe language to survive. Differences are to be celebrated rather than denigrated.

Notes

1. This observation, held by many people, was eloquently written by David Hanners in “Spirit World Now Beckons to Legendary Tribal Leader,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 2, 1996, 1B, 4B.

2. Paul DeMain, “Nebageshig is Laid to Rest,” News From Indian Country, mid- September 1996, 7A.

3. The exact date of Archie Mosay’s birth is not known. Archie and his children accepted the date of August 20, 1901. However, this is only their best guess. His exact place of birth is also unknown—whether in the woods or a wiigiwaam—although he was born somewhere in the vicinity of the Indian village of Inaandagokaag near present-day Balsam Lake, Wisconsin.

4. It is not clear if the peace medallion was originally given to Archie’s paternal grandfather Shakopee of Mille Lacs or to a chief on his mother’s side at St. Croix. The feather war bonnet appears to have come from Mille Lacs. The name “Shakopee” was adopted from the Dakota and was carried by a couple of prominent Ojibwe leaders as well as by Dakota people.

5. Wayne Mosay, his youngest child, was the only one of Archie’s offspring to have been born in a hospital.

6. The dibaajimowin “Mii Gaa-pi-izhichigewaad Mewinzha” was originally recorded by Paul DeMain during an interview with Archie broadcast on Lac Courte Oreilles tribal radio station WOJB 88.9 FM of Reserve, Wisconsin, on April 10, 1996. He released reproduction rights for the recording with the permission of Archie’s family.

Gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziyaang

[1] Akawe niwii-tibaajim o’ow gaa-izhiwebiziyaan o’ow isa gii-oshki-bimaadiziyaan. Gaawiin ingikendanziin aandi gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziyaan—gemaa gaye wiigiwaaming gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziwaanen gemaa gaye nisawa’ogaaning gemaa gaye iwidi ingoji megwekob gemaa gaye. Mii iwidi gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziwaambaanen.

[2] Baanimaa ashi-niiyo-biboonagiziyaan, mii apii waakaa’igaans noosiban gaa-ozhitood. Mii apii gii-ayaayaang. Ishkweyaang, mii apane wiigiwaaming ingii-taamin. Mii dash imaa gaa-tazhi-nitaawigiyaan imaa, imaa sa Inaandagokaag ezhinikaadeg. Mewinzha ingii-tazhi-ondaadiz. Ingitiziimag igaye imaa ginwenzh omaa gii-tanakiiwag, nayenzh igo.

[3] Noosiban, iwidi sa Misi-zaaga’iganiing ezhinikaadeg, mii iwidi gaa-tazhi-ondaadizid a’aw noosiban. Mii dash imaa, miish imaa midaaswi-ashi-zhaangaso-biboonagizid, mii imaa gii-wiidigemaad nimaamaayibanen. Miish omaa gii-ayaad biinish gii-maajaad. Miinawaa onow oniijaanisan gii-shaangachiwan oniijaanisan, ingitiziimag.

Mii Gaa-pi-izhichigewaad Mewinzha

[1] Boozhoo anishinaabedog! Akawe niwii-tibaajim o’ow isa ayindiyaan ishkweyaang gii-oshki-bimaadiziyaan. Gaawiin indaa-gikendanziin dibi gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziwaanen—gemaa gaye wiigiwaaming gemaa gaye nisawa’ogaaning gemaa gaye iwidi ingoji megwekob gemaa gaye. Mii iwidi gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziwaad aanind anishinaabeg ishkweyaang.

[2] Ganabaj gii-ashi-niiyo-biboonagiziyaan, mii bijiinag apii gaa-piindigeyaan ayi’ii waakaa’igaans indedeyiban gaa-ozhitood. Mii eta go wiigiwaaming gii-ayaayaang bebiboon. Miinawaa wa’aw ingitiziimag iwidi Odaawaa-zaaga’eganiing izhinikaadeg, mii iwidi nimaamaayiban gaa-tazhi-ondaadizid. Imaa o’ow, aya’aa Aanakwad ezhinikaazod anishinaabe, iwidi gaa-tanakiiwaad. Miish iwidi ingoji gaa-tazhi-ondaadiziwagobanen a’aw nimaamaayiban aya’aa Neweyaash akiwenzii gii-izhinikaazowan odedeyan. O’ow dash nimaamaa onaabeman gaa-wiidigemaajin ishkweyaang a’aw mindimooyenh gii-izhinikaazod.

[3] Mayaajaanid sa onow onaabeman, miish imaa neyaab Inaandagokaag gaa-pi-izhi-goziwaad. Mii dash