Band Member Voices
July Culture Column - CHOOSE THE WAY OF LIFE
By Nazhike, Mille Lacs Band Member
There has never been a better time, in recent History, to be Anishinaabe.
That may sound strange in a world where we often hear about language loss, cultural decline and the many challenges our communities continue to face. Those realities are real and we should never ignore them. But they are not the whole story. Despite every attempt to erase us, we are still here. Our language and our ceremonies continue to bring our people together. Our children are still born to a people with history that dates back to the time when the Manidoog were here.
The Anishinaabe way of life is built on relationships. We are taught that every living thing has a purpose and deserves respect. It reminds us that our responsibilities extend beyond ourselves, our families, our communities, the land, the water, the animals, and to generations we will never meet. We are not separate from Creation. We are part of it.
When we harvest gifts, we offer tobacco. When we harvest wild rice, we give thanks. When we hunt, fish, or gather maple sap, we recognize that these are not resources to exploit but gifts to increase our spiritual connection. Even our language reflects this relationship, reminding us through its structure that the world around us is full of the blessings we receive from those Manidoog.
Living as Anishinaabe also means caring for one another. It means helping without expecting recognition. Encouraging our young people instead of criticizing them. Sharing what we know instead of protecting it out of fear. Our ancestors did not survive by competing with one another. They survived because they understood that the strength of the individual depends upon the strength of the community.
Many people believe they need permission before embracing this way of life. They wait until they know more language, understand more ceremony or feel more confident in their identity. But the path has never required perfection. It only asks for humility, sincerity, and a willingness to learn.
Learn one new Ojibwe word. Spend an afternoon with an Elder. Bring your children into the woods. Offer gratitude before a meal. Use your asemaa. These small choices, repeated day after day, become a way of life. They shape our character, strengthen our families and reconnect us to who we have always been.
The future of our people will not be secured by governments alone, nor by grants, schools or organizations. Those things have their place but they cannot replace personal responsibility. The future of the Anishinaabe people will be determined by individuals and families choosing to live in Anishinaabe Izhitwaawin in everyday life.
Our ancestors carried this way of life through unimaginable hardship so that we could inherit it. They never expected us to simply admire it. They expected us to live it.
Today, we have that same responsibility. Every word we learn, every teaching we pass on, every child we encourage and every act of support rooted in our teachings strengthens the next generation. The question before us is not whether the Anishinaabe way of life can survive. It already has.
The question is whether we will choose to live it.
Miigwech.
