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Related Resources

Our goal is to connect you to as many resources for language learners as we can. However, inclusion in this list is not an endorsement of any of these tools, books, materials or websites. Look around at what is available, know yourself and your learning style, and choose what works best for you.

Be sure to check out our Tools for Language Learning page and the materials available under Teacher Collaboration as well.

If you have materials you'd like us to add to the collection here, please contact us: nora at ojibwemowin dot com.

Books, CDs, DVDs & other materials

Some of the materials below are available from Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. Call 612-374-4023 or visit their website at www.birchbarkbooks.com.

Books that incorporate Ojibwe words and cultural concepts

The Four Hills of Life: Ojibwe Wisdom
by Thomas Peacock
ISBN13: 9781890434656
ISBN10: 1890434655

Order at Powells.com THE FOUR HILLS OF LIFE tells the wise and beautiful Ojibwe story about the path we walk through the seasons of life, from the springtime of youth through the winter of old age. The hills we climb along the way are the challenges we face and the responsibilities we accept. The path is not always easy; some of us lose our way. We question the meaning of life. But when we walk the Good Path?when we commit to values and fulfill our goals?the meaning of life finds us. Through engaging text, colorful illustrations, and activities designed especially for kids, THE FOUR HILLS OF LIFE shows how everything in creation follows this path in the great circle of life. Thomas Peacock is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and a professor of education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Marlene Wisuri is an internationally acclaimed photographer and director of the Carlton County Historical Society in Cloquet, Minnesota.

Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look in All Directions
by Thomas D. Peacock
ISBN13: 9781890434274
ISBN10: 1890434272

Order at Powells.com"Ojibwe: Waasa Inaabidaa" (which translates "we look in all directions") is a uniquely personal history of the Ojibwe culture by Ojibwe educator Thomas Peacock. Illustrated with color and historic black-and-white photographs, artwork, and maps, it is the story of how the Ojibwe people and their ways have continued to survive, and even thrive, from pre-contact times to the present. The story visits contemporary Ojibwe and non-Indian issues, including tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, casino gambling, and education.

The Good Path: Ojibwe Learning and Activity Book for Kids
by Thomas Peacock
ISBN13: 9781890434533
ISBN10: 1890434531

Order at Powells.comIdeally suited for classroom use or home reading, this illustrated history of Ojibwe culture focuses on the teachings of the Good Path, nine core values that are the fundamental basis of Ojibwe philosophy: Honor the CreatorHonor EldersHonor WomenHonor Our Elder Brothers (the plant and animal beings)Be PeacefulBe Kind to EveryoneBe Moderate in Our Thoughts, Words, and DeedsBe CourageousKeep Our PromisesKids of all cultures journey through time with the Ojibwe people as their guide to the Good Path and its universal lessons of courage, cooperation, and honor. Through traditional native tales, hear about Grandmother Moon, the mysterious Megis shell, and the souls of plants and animals. Through Ojibwe history, learn how trading posts, treaties, and warfare affected Native Americans. Through activities designed especially for kids, discover fun ways to follow the Good Path's timeless wisdom every day.

 

Birchbark HouseThe Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover - 244 pages (May 1999)
Hyperion Press
ISBN: 0786803002
Order at Powells.com

Louise Erdrich's first novel for young readers tells the story of 7-year-old Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl living in the 1800s. The story follows Omakayas and her family through the four seasons in 1847, when a smallpox outbreak takes place on Lake Superior's Madeline Island.


Legend of the Lady SlipperThe Legend of the Lady Slipper: An Ojibwe Tale
by Lise Lunge-Larsen, Margi Preus, Andrea Arroyo (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover - 32 pages (March 26, 1999)
Houghton Mifflin Co (Pap)
ISBN: 0395905125 Order at Powells.com

Uses Ojibwe words and phrases to tell the story of a girl's bravery and endurance, and the appearance of the first lady slipper flowers.


Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend
by Betsy Bowen (Illustrator), Nancy Van Laan
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback (March 2002)
Houghton Mifflin Co (Juv)
ISBN: 0618216162
Order at Powells.com

Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, seems determined to let Shingebiss, a merganser duck, freeze to death. But even though the plucky bird has only four logs to warm his lodge during the winter months, he is still able to stand strong against his great opponent. Uses Ojibwe words in the storytelling.


Morning on the Lake
by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, Bourdeau, Karen Reczuch (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover - 32 pages 1 Us Ed edition (March 1998)
Kids Can Press
ISBN: 1550743732 Order at Powells.com

The Ojibwe words and a tender respect for the land and the animals echo the author's heritage, and the lessons of intergenerational love and trust are universal and sweet.


Ininatig's Gift of Sugar : Traditional Native Sugarmaking (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today)
by Laura Waterman Wittstock, Dale Kakkak (Photographer)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding - 48 pages (August 1993)
Lerner Publications Company; ISBN: 0822526530 Order at Powells.com

Beginning with the legend of Ininatig, who gave the people maple sugar, the book tells how the process of tapping trees, boiling sap, and making sugar is carried out today by the late Porky White. Along with the information, a great deal of culture is woven into the accessible text and well-chosen color photographs.

Books about Ojibwe culture

The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)
Order at Powells.comby Gordon Regguinti, Dale Kakkak (Photographer)
ASIN: 0822526506


Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life
by Marcie R. Rendon, Cheryl Walsh Bellville (Photographer), Cheryl wa Bellville
ASIN: 0876149867 Order at Powells.com

Rendon follows the Downwind family (members of the Anishinabe tribe in northern Minnesota) one summer as they attend a series of weekend powwows. This contemporary family--including parents Sharyl and Windy and their five natural children and five foster children--helps pass on its heritage through singing, dancing, visiting relatives, and celebrating the circle of life.


The Healing Blanket: Stories, Values and Poetry from Ojibwe Elders and Teachers
by Gina Jones, Maryellen Baker (Lac Courte Oreilles), Mildred Schuman (Ojibwe) and Blackwolf Jones (Ojibwe)
Paperback - 246 pages (June 2000)
Commune-A-Key
ISBN: 1881394247 Order at Powells.com

A collaboration of storytelling, traditional values, and poetry by Ojibwe Elders and teachers, this book offers something for every reader. Part one is a love story that crosses cultures. Part two passes on traditional Ojibwe values, while part three is an artistic look into the heart of the Ojibwe people.


History of the Ojibway People
Order at Powells.comby William W. Warren, W. Roger Buffalohead (Introduction)
Paperback - 411 pages Reprint edition (October 1984)
Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 087351162X


Chippewa Customs
Order at Powells.comby Frances Densmore, Nina Marchetti Archabal (Introduction)
Paperback - 228 pages (August 1, 1979)
Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 0873511425


Ojibway Ceremonies
Order at Powells.comby David Beyer (Illustrator), Basil H. Johnston
Paperback - 188 pages Reprint edition (April 1990)
Brompton Books Corp
ISBN: 0803275730


The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway
Order at Powells.comby Basil Johnston
Paperback (September 2001)
Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 0873514114


Boarding School Seasons : American Indian Families 1900-1940 (North American Indian Prose Award Series)
by Brenda J. Child
Hardcover - 176 pages (November 1998)
Ingram Book Co
ISBN: 0803214804 Order at Powells.com

This short, easy to read book presents a basic overview of boarding school issues which occurred throughout the U.S. during the boarding school era. Brenda Child's book concentrates on the Red Lake Ojibwes who attended boarding school at Flandreau specifically. The book also uses personal stories of students and their families in vignettes preserved through letters sent to and from Flandreau.


Red Lake Nation : Portraits of Ojibway Life
by Charles Brill
Order at Powells.comHardcover - 176 pages 2 edition (October 1992)
Univ of Minnesota Pr (Trd)
ISBN: 0816619069

A contemporary look at reservation life.


Wild Rice and the Ojibway People
by Thomas Jr. Vennum
ASIN: 0873512251 Order at Powells.com

Examines in detail the technology of harvesting and processing the grain, the important place of wild rice in Ojibway ceremony and legend, including the rich social life of the traditional rice camps, and the volatile issues of treaty rights.


Ethnohistory of Mississippi Bands and Pillager and Winnibigoshish bands of Chippewa
by Harold Hickerson
Order at Powells.comASIN: 082400809X


For a list of reviewed children books about American Indians, visit Abinoojiinh-Mazina'iganan.

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