Welcome back to Teen Story Share! We're continuing "The Birchbark House," by Louise Erdrich, which we've been reading for the past two weeks. This is 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).
Set in the mid-1800s, "The Birchbark House" is 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.
For all of 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"
By Louise Erdrich
Disney Hyperion, 1999
If you missed chapter 1:
• Teen Story Share - “Th...
If you missed chapter 2:
• Teen Story Share - “Th...
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 the story so far:
Ahneen (ah-NEEN): a greeting, sometimes in the form of a question
Anishinaabe (AH-nish-in-AH-bay):
a person, a human (in contrast to a non-human being)
an Indian (in contrast to a non-Indian), a Native (in contrast to a non-Native)
an Ojibwe
Anishiaabeg (AH-nish-in-AH-bayg): the plural form of Anishinaabe
apitchi (a-PITCH-ee): robin
ashaageshinh (ah-SHAH-geh-sheen): crayfish
booni (BOO-nee): leave it alone
Deydey (DAY-day): Daddy
geget (Geh-geht): surely, or for emphasis, truly or really
hiyn (high-n): exclamation of sympathy or chagrin, meaning "that's too bad"
makazins (MAH-kah-zinz): footwear usually made of tanned moosehide or deerskin, often trimmed with beads and/or fur
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.
mino aya sana (mih-noh ah-YAH sah-nah): I wish you good health
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
n'dai (en-die): my dog, my animal (often used also with a horse or car)
neebin (NEE-bin): summer
neshemay (neh-shee-may): little sister or little brother
Nokomis (no-KOH-mis): my grandmother
odaemin (oh-DAY-min): strawberries (heart berries)
owah (oh-WAH): exclamation of alarm or surprise, like "oh!"
pakuks (pay-KUKZ): skeletons of children that fly through the air
tikinagun (tick-ih-NAH-gun): a cradle board
windigo (WIN-di-go): a giant monster of Ojibwe teachings, often made of ice and associated with the starvation and danger of deep winter
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
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2 фев 2023
