Three-week camp teaches Anishinaabemowin language in North Bay

A three-week immersion camp being held at North Bay's Canadore College teaches students the Anishinaabemowin language.

A language immersion camp taking place at Canadore College in North Bay is teaching Anishinaabemowin, the original language of the Anishinaabeg culture.

The camp is being led by fluent speakers and second-language learners with Ninaatigoons Learning.

“My family is from Garden River First Nation and we have a history of residential schools and I want to speak the language,” student Ali Darnay said.

“My grandparents were fluent speakers and so I want to be one, too.”

The Anishinaabemowin immersion camp is a three-week program designed for beginner and emergent language learners.

“So, everybody sort of comes at a basic level, needing just a little bit more to put pieces together and so they’re getting that,” said Ninaatig Staats-Pangowish, Ninaatigoons Learning founder and University of Toronto Anishinaabemowin professor.

Student Gavin Hemeon said he signed up because his grandfather spoke the language.

“But he wasn’t able to pass on that to my family because he passed when my mom was young,” Hemeon said.

The language camp runs until May 23 and it’s the longest Anishinaabemowin immersion camp ever offered in the province.

“This is a sort of change, a shift in direction for our language because now in Ontario, there’s quite a handful of students who can actually speak and be conversational, who are under 40,” said Staats-Pangowish.

The 21 students taking part come from across Ontario and as far away as British Columbia. Many of them say they want to learn the language and, one day, pass it down to the next generation.

“I’m in university right now. I’m going to try to be a teacher. So, I would want to be able to pass it down,” Hemeon said.

“That’s why I want to fully learn the language just so I can teach it later.”

Anishinaabemowin is the original language of the Anishinaabeg people in the Great Lakes Region. According to Statistics Canada, only 25,000 people spoke the language in 2021, down five per cent from 2016.

“Some people are struggling because they’re not connected to their heritage languages and their cultures.” Staats-Pangowish said.

The camp builds on the success of the Biidwewdamowaad Nimkiig Biidaabang (BNB) program, which launched in September 2024 for adult learners aspiring to become Anishinaabemowin teachers in their communities.

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The North Bay camp provides a platform for BNB students to share their year-long learning with community members, guided by the expert Ninaatigoons Learning team.

“Our dream is to create a world where our children can speak Anishinaabemowin, not only in the home, but in the community, as well,” said Anishinaabemowin camp coordinator Pina Hare.

Darnay describes the opportunity as “amazing” and a way for her to reconnect to her roots.

“I want my children to speak the language. I want my grandchildren to speak the language,” she said.