Welcome back to Teen Story Share! It's a new year, and our first book of 2023 is "The Birchbark House," by Louise Erdrich. It's the first book in a series about a young girl named Omakayas. Omakayas and her family are Ojibwe (also sometimes called Anishinaabe, the Ojibwe are Indigenous people from the Great Lakes region of the United States & Canada). The story is set in the mid-1800s.
For these reasons, many librarians and educators recommend reading this series alongside Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series. ("The Birchbark House" even takes place in the same region as the first LH book, "Little House in the Big Woods," which takes place in what is now Wisconsin). Reading both series gives you a more well-rounded view of this period in American history, from both an Indigenous (in this case, Ojibwe) perspective, and from a European settler perspective.
"The Birchbark House" is also inspired by the author's own family history. If you like the story, you may want to check out the next two books in the series: "The Game of Silence," and "The Porcupine Year," which AHMFL has.
"The Birchbark House"
By Louise Erdrich
Disney Hyperion, 1999
To say the Ojibwe words in this book, I used the author's glossary, and the online dictionary below. I do apologize for any pronunciation mistakes I may have made.
ojibwe.lib.umn...
Words in this chapter:
Anishiaabeg (AH-nish-in-AH-bayg): the plural form of Anishinaabe
Moningwanaykaning (moh-ning-way-NAY-kan-ing): Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, also known as Madeline Island, largest of the Apostle Islands in Southern Lake Superior, spiritual home of the Anishinaabeg
makazins (MAH-kah-zinz): footwear usually made of tanned moosehide or deerskin, often trimmed with beads and/or fur
neebin (NEE-bin): summer
Nokomis (no-KOH-mis): my grandmother
booni (BOO-nee): leave it alone
geget (Geh-geht): surely, or for emphasis, truly or really
Deydey (DAY-day): Daddy
makuk (mah-KUK): a container of birchbark folded and often stitched together with basswood fiber. Ojibwe people use these containers today, especially for traditional feasts.
pakuks (pay-KUKZ): skeletons of children that fly through the air
windigo (WIN-di-go): a giant monster of Ojibwe teachings, often made of ice and associated with the starvation and danger of deep winter
neshemay (neh-shee-may): little sister or little brother
Teen Story Share is a regular program of the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library, with videos on Fridays on our RU-vid, Facebook, and Instagram (@AlexHamiltonLibrary @ahmfl_teens). To find out more about our online and in-person programs for Kids, Teens, and Adults, visit ahmfl.org & click on the Programming tab.
Music:
So Young at Heart, Judson Crane
12 янв 2023
