Manitoba Museum launches Indigenous language game

A display featuring bison at the Manitoba Museum on July 25, 2025. (Glenn Pismenny/CTV News Winnipeg)

The Manitoba Museum has launched an Indigenous language game to support early learners of the Anishinaabe language.

The interactive language game, Anishinaabemowin with Amik, is available on the museum’s website and focuses on animal names that are native to Manitoba and found throughout the museum galleries.

“It’s just basically to support learning and language revitalization of Anishinaabemowin, the Anishinaabe language,” said Tashina Houle-Gaywish, head of Indigenous programming and engagement at the Manitoba Museum.

The game features memory and matching challenges and incorporates the Manitoba dialect of Anishinaabemowin.

“It’s always been the museum’s effort, especially in the last decade, to include indigenous languages in our galleries and exhibits. So, my team and I wanted to take it a step further and have indigenous languages on our website.”

Houle-Gaywish said the game is primarily geared toward children, adding that it can be played anywhere online — and not exclusively on museum grounds.

She said the game will be “especially beneficial” for teachers to use in pre-visit programming, with upwards of 90,000 students attending the museum annually.

“We’re slowly making little improvements, and eventually we’re going to expand to more words and phrases and other Indigenous languages,” said Houle-Gaywish.

Funding for the initiative was made possible through the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation.