Winnipeg Indigenous language class pens children's songs in Ojibwe
Red River College students hoping to pass their lessons on to the next generation
When a group of Indigenous students signed up to learn their language, they never dreamed they'd end up recording a children's album in Ojibwe.
The idea happened by accident and turned into a learning opportunity.
"We were singing a song, because we have a lot of fun in class too," said Joy Phillips. "[Our teacher] just said the next day, we should write songs."
Phillips said they decided on songs for children because they are simple and catchy.
So far they have five songs and each one teaches a lesson, like the number song, where they count to 10, using animals.
"We didn't want to translate well known songs … we wanted something that was completely our own. We did our own writing, our own melody," said Phillips.
Some of the other themes are about the seasons and playing outside, knowing it's time to go home because the fireflies are out.
Students perform Firefly in Ojibwe:
Phillips, who has her bachelor of education degree, said she would love to see their songs being taught in schools to help children learn Ojibwe.
"It's something that is fun," she said. "You're not just repeating phrasing, you're actually enjoying yourself while you're doing it."
With patience and practice Phillips predicted she will become a fluent speaker. Her goal is to become an Ojibwe immersion teacher.
She grew up hearing her mom speak Ojibwe, but it was never passed down to her.
"Now I have to do what I can to bring that back for myself, for my children and future people," she said. "I will just do my part and learn as much as I can."
Never too late
When Dave Bird isn't laughing and cracking jokes, he's playing the guitar and singing in Ojibwe with his classmates.
At 58, Bird said he never thought he would be learning his language, let alone in Winnipeg and at college.
"All my years I've lived in Peguis and worked there. I had no reason to leave," he said. "It was kind of a big change for me."
But he said after falling ill, he had to stop working as a bus driver and health care aide. He said it was his wife and daughter who encouraged him to apply for Red River College's Indigenous Languages program.
"I got an email and it said you've been accepted into the college, and I was kind of thinking oh dang," he laughed. "Now I've got to go, I can't back out now."
So in the fall, he rented an apartment for the first time and made the temporary move to the city.
He said he never heard anyone speak Ojibwe while growing up in Peguis.
"My dad spoke it, Cree and Ojibwe, but he never really taught us because of the residential school," he said. "I think he was scared for what happened to him would happen to us."
Bird said it always bugged him not knowing his language, but now, he can sing to his grandkids in Ojibwe.
He said together they're learning to count to 10 thanks to the class's number song.
"I used to get stuck at five … until we wrote that song," he said. "Now I know them from six to 10, even I caught on myself once we started playing and singing."
Bird admits it's a challenge learning a new language and that's why he wants to take his knowledge back to Peguis and start teaching the kids.
He'd like to restart a program he used to teach — land-based learning — teaching kids how to fish, hunt and trap.
But this time he'd use their language while teaching them those outdoor skills.
"That's where it has to start from, when they are small," he said.
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