The Slice
Why the Ojibwe Language Matters: Michael Sullivan
8/5/2026 | 1m 44sVideo has Closed Captions
In this edition of The Slice from PBS North, Michael Sullivan shares why reclaiming the Ojibwe...
In this edition of The Slice from PBS North, Michael Sullivan shares why reclaiming the Ojibwe language is about more than words. He explains how Anishinaabemowin reconnects people to their ancestors, culture, community, and identity and why language is essential to healing and the future of Indigenous communities.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
The Slice is a local public television program presented by PBS North
The Slice
Why the Ojibwe Language Matters: Michael Sullivan
8/5/2026 | 1m 44sVideo has Closed Captions
In this edition of The Slice from PBS North, Michael Sullivan shares why reclaiming the Ojibwe language is about more than words. He explains how Anishinaabemowin reconnects people to their ancestors, culture, community, and identity and why language is essential to healing and the future of Indigenous communities.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship“Speaking Ojibwe” So my name is Michael Sullivan and I'm from here at the Lac Courte Ojibwe reservation in northern WI And we're standing at our honor.
The Earths Powwow Grounds, where we're holding our second annual.
Aginjibagwesi Owadiswan the nest of the language keeper.
It's a Ojibwe language camp that's open, free and accessible to any community members.
And we celebrate our pursuit of our Anishinaabe language I think a lot of people wonder about our motivation.
What, what what drives us to work so hard with regard to our language.
And our elders always told us that without our language, without the connection to who we are as Anishinaabe that there's a void that we carry within, and So by learning our language, we not only connect to our community, our spiritual way of life, but we connect to our ancestors and we connect to creation.
So, so many of the answers to the questions that we have as human beings are found within the worldview of our Anishinaabe language.
So we tell our students, you're really, really missing out on the beautiful world and the beautiful existence that was intended for us as Anishinaabe people, and you get to reconnect to that through your language.
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The Slice is a local public television program presented by PBS North