dabaam

Amik

2008-01-13T12:29:00.000-06:00

Ganabaj amik ingii-tasoonaa.

Geget igo amik imaa ayaa wanii'iganing.

Gichi-amik, wiinge naa mindido.

Miigwech nimishoomis.

Miziwe Mikwamiikaa idash Goonikaa

2008-01-13T11:49:00.000-06:00

Agoojin mikwam imaa waakaa'iganing.

Miziwe inaabiyaan, ishpagonigaa.Giwaabandaan ina madoodoo-wigamig?

Goon abi imaa agijaya'ii zhaabandowaaning.

Day Two of the Trout Lake Canoe Trip

2007-06-17T13:56:00.000-06:00

Aaaah, how sweet....
Camp fires are one of the many good things about being outdoors.
Lucia was even able to catch Lake Trout...do you think she looks a little frightened?
Will the real Pebaam please step forward.
On the last day which was our fifth day there, Lucia was the only one that caught any trout.

Trout Lake Canoe Trip

2007-06-17T13:43:00.000-06:00

Our first canoe trip to a remote lake called Trout lake. We pulled our two canoes to the portage which was at the deep end of Red Gut Bay.
We then paddled to the portage where the rapids were beautiful.
In between the two portages was another set of rapids which was just as beautiful as the previous one.
The first sunset was outstanding.
The first morning we went out fishing, we caught two lake trout. Pebaam caught one and Niiyo-Giizhig caught two.

Okaadenigewin

2007-03-01T21:03:00.000-06:00

Okaadenigewag ingiw
gaa-niibawiwaad imaa ozhibii'igewigamigong.

Wii-okaadenige gaye wiin a'aw Migizikwe,
ji-minwaabaminaagozid.

Okaadenige a'aw Emii gii-niibawid miinawaa gii-agindaasod.

Gaawiin okaadenigesii a'aw ikwe idash odagindaan "bible" ezhinikaadeg.

"Ninde-wiisin.." gii-ikido a'aw gikinoo'amaagan.

Wanii'igeng miinawaa Agoodoowin

2007-01-28T22:22:00.000-06:00

Aaniin ezhichiged a'aw ikwe? Biwaabik odakonaan. Aaniin dash waa-ayaabajitood?

Nashke miinawaa bezhig ikwe, gegoo odoozhitoon. Awegonen dinowa ozhitood? Nagwaagan odoozhitoon. Ominwendaan ezhichiged.

Niiwin nagwaaganan ingii-agoodoomin idash ingii-nagwaanaamin bezhig waabooz eta. Gegaa ojiimaan waaboozoon.

"Wow" ikidowag ingiw ikwezensag. Amik gii-tasoozo. Gii-biboong, niminwendaan wanii'igeyaan.

Gii-biboong, wayiiba onaagoshig bangishimo gimishoomisinaan.

Awenenag ingiw awesiiyag?

2007-01-22T20:05:00.000-06:00

Dibishkoo ma'iingan miinawaa mooz izhinaagoziwag.
Nashke awedi miinawaa bezhig ma'iingan biijibatoo!
Niswi dashiwag ingiw ma'iinganag.
Omiigaanaawaan moozoon ingiwedig ma'iinganag.
Ogagwe-nisaawaan moozoon, ganabaj wii-wiisiniwag.

Biboon

2007-01-16T07:24:00.000-06:00

Noongom zhebaa agwajiing ingii-inaab.

Gii-tagoshin gaa-bebooniked akiwenziinh, ingii-inendam.
Niminwenimaa a'aw goon. Aapiji mino-naagwad misiwe inaabiyaan.

Mii dash ji-maajii-aadizookeyang.

Miziwe gii-waabishki-inaagwad.

2007-01-13T01:00:00.001-06:00

Leaving Hawaii

2007-01-13T00:38:00.000-06:00

Upon leaving, I have a few reflections on the highlights of our trip to Hawaii.

When we went to Hilo and visited Volcanoe National Park, I got to see first hand how Creation was created. Lava came up from the ocean and erupted which in turn cooled and turned into rock. Rocks piled on top of each other and eventally became land. Seeing this, it was like standing at the dawn of time and watching creation be created. This was so amazing, seeing how the Creator created creation. I was awed.

The second thing would have to be the immersion efforts that the Hawaiians are involved in. Yesterday we visited another immersion school and met the staff and a special tour of the school. The land is utilized as part of the curriculum and seeing the gardens being fed by natural water flow was inspiring. Seeing the classrooms all written in the Hawaiian language was equally inspiring. Seeing this gave me hope for all Indigenous people of the world.

Next year the NIEA conference is going to ne hosted here in Honolulu and the president of the organization gave us a special invitation to attend who also happened to be our tour guide. She was very gracious in hosting us and took us out to a very expensive restuarant with a table by the ocean. We ate sea food and got to see the sun set from a large picture window while ships passed by in the harbour. This was imoressive.

After supper we took a last stroll down Waikiki beach and bought some last minute items to bring home with us. The weather, the healthy looking people, the good food and good hospitality will stay with me for a long time.

Hanauma Bay is a under water nature perserve where we went snorkeling. Attached are a few pictures of that place.

Visiting Volcano Nation Park in Hilo

2007-01-09T00:05:00.000-06:00

Miziwe gaa-inaabiyang, gii-bimijiwan nibi.
In Hilo, there are many waterfalls and the fact that it was raining a lot added to the fresh water flowing.

Waabigwaniin miziwe gii-nitaawigin.
There is a rain forest and plants grow very fast.

Biindig imaa wajiwing ingii-babaa-bimosemin.
We were able to walk inside of this mountain.

Mount Kilawea is the largest mountain in the world and when it erupts, it leaves large caves like this one where the lava flowed and made holes in the mountain.

Mii go apane ji inaabiyan imaa ishpimiing.
You aways have to look up when you are around coconut trees.

Heading to Hilo

2007-01-08T15:28:00.000-06:00

Daga izhaadaa iwidi gichi-minising. Mii sa gaa-izhichigeyang. Ingii-pimisemin bimisemagadining. Let's go to the big island. So that is what we did. We flew by plane.
Hawaii is the name of the big island and it is the largest of all the islands. The three airlines are having a price war therefore it was relatively cheap to fly.

Imaa gikino'amaading ingii-izhaamin gii-tagoshinaang. Ingii-nagamotawigoonaan ingiw abinoojiiyensag. Aapiji gii-minotaagoziwag idash gii-jiikinaagoziwag igaye. We visited the immersion school when we arrived. These young pre-schoolers sang to us in Hawaiian as a way to greet us and they were just cute.
Omaamaayan miinawaa odaanisan gii-biinichigewag imaa gikinoo'amaading. Gakina awiiyag wiidookaagewag ji-anokiimagak i'iw gikinoo'amaading. The mother and daughter here help to clean the school. Everone is involved in every aspect of the school to help it run smoothly.

Ingii-waabanda'ig aanind mazina'iganan gaa-ozhitoowaad. Gakina gegoo ozhibii'igaade Hawaiian-imowin. Pila Wilson is showing me some of the curriculum that they have developed here for the immersion school.

Nagweyaab gemaa manidoo miikana Hawaiian anishinaabe-bii'igaade. The colors of the rainbow are named in Hawaiian.

The school is very self sufficient. They raised their own pigs and tend to them daily. It is part of the curriculum. I would say the most impressive part was that everyone was staying in the language and they only switch to english for our benefit. They had me speak to the little ones in Anishinaabemowin and I told them that "Mahalo" is "Miigwech" in Ojibwe.

Giiwedinong Jiigibiij Ingii-izhaamin (Heading to the North Shore)

2007-01-04T11:46:00.000-06:00

Gii-gichi-maangaashkaa iwidi

gaa-izhaayaang.

Before Don left, we drove to the north shore of the island where the waves were reported as being 25 feet high. The weather was so great that Laura and I sat in the back of the jeep with the top down and the wind blowing in our air. Hey I was being "Wind In His Hair"

Geget igo michaamagadinoon!

Don was so amazed at how huge the waves were that he tried to measure them.

Gego bagizoken imaa, ozhibii'igaade.

"Strong Current, if in doubt don't go out" is what the signs reads.

Aapichi minonaagwad miziwe

babaa-inaabiyaan.

Check this out. Not the girls but the size of the waves coming in.

Gichi aabawaa imaa minising.

On the Beach

2007-01-02T12:03:00.000-06:00

We went snorkeling over there somewhere....
Laura's cousin is in the Coast Guard and was able to get us into a military base where the beach was exclusive for military personnel. We had our own private little beach and the snorkeling was incredible. There was a lot of colorful fish along with various sizes to them and we were able to get up real close to them. As Don put it, "it was awesome." What's a vacation if you can't lay around on the beach and catch some rays. Trying to get brown.
We had a great supper and afterwards we went and had some homemade ice cream. Everything is great, we are eating good, seeing good sites, have good company and best of all, it is very relaxing.

Sushi for New Year's

2007-01-02T01:32:00.000-06:00

We had sushi new year's eve and these were the various reponses.

New Year's eve here is very loud.
The fire crackers start going off around 6:00 in the evening and last until about 12:30

The Hawaiian's have adopted the Japanese beliefs
of tying 5,000 fire crackers to a pole outside their
house and then lighting it to ward off any danger
for the year.

We drove around Waikiki beach in the evening but
could not find any place to park.
It was just packed with celebrators.

Koko Head Mountain

2007-01-01T13:14:00.000-06:00

The first day in Oahu, we climbed Koko Head Mountain which has 1,0076 steps. The climb to the top took us an hour to do.
THIS IS EASY
THIS IS NOT EASY
VIEW FROM THE TOP
THIS GUY WAS AMAZING, HE DID THE CLIMB TWICE THAT MORNING

Arriving in Hawaii

2006-12-31T21:54:00.000-06:00

So here are the first pictures of Hawaii.

First, there's da baam at the airport,

then Laura and I by banyon trees
and then Pam and Don on Waikiki Beach.

We all watched the sun set behind the palm trees while we had supper by the beach.

Trapping Retreat

2006-12-29T11:18:00.000-06:00

So this past december before christmas, these girls came out to the camp to learn how to trap a beaver and to snare a rabbit. This was the end result.

Techie and I are getting along

2006-12-03T21:56:00.000-06:00

A little summary of how my realtionship with techie is going.

I am on my lap top on a daily basis and doing new and innovative things. For instance, I am putting my photos into files and catagorizing them for future presentations. I am called upon regularly to do guest lectures about the language camp therefore the picture files prove to be very handy.

I am proposing to upgrade my curriculum using technology. I would like to work this into my master's program somehow and possibly submit it as an assignment. Somehow, all of this has to be inter related.

I fooled around with the beginnings of a power point presentation for my final oral in the langauge class. If everything goes to plan it should be a really cool power point presentation.

I am constantly taking pictures with my digital camera and sending them to family and friends by e-mail. This is good practise for me as I am getting familar with this technology.

I am not sure how much longer I am to post here on my blog so with that I shall conclude for now.

Going away for the weekend with Techie

2006-11-19T22:38:00.000-06:00

"Let's go away together this weekend.." I told techie. So we did.

I took my students to my home community of Nigigoonsiminikaaning this past weekend and had an Ojibwe immersion camp. The only part of techie I brought was the digital camera. Before I went, I took all the pictures I had in the camera and transferred them to the lap top. My plan is to sequence them and add Ojibwe phrases to them to show in my classes and at language table. Tayaa...I just created another project for myself. Oh well....

Anyways this weekend, I took over 150 pictures and the beauty of a digital camera is that I can take as much pictures as I want and I will not be wasting film. Also I can delete the ones I don't want and archive the ones I do want.
This weekend was full of ceremony where we were visiting sacred spots and offering tobacco. We walked around in the snow and saw all kinds of tracks. We had a sweat lodge, visited the community round house, sat in a blessing ceremony and ate traditional food like smoked beaver, deer stew, moose chile and wild rice. I was surprised to see so much snow there was on the ground. I love snow.

Sometimes it is good for my sanity to get away from the many aspects of Techie and all of her gadgets. Where we stayed, which is the language camp, there is no running water or electricity. It is good to get back to the basics periodically and to appreciate the simple things like, a sunrise, the beauty of snow, a walk in the woods.

Techie helped me do research this weekend in the form of a picture essay. I also got to know my students and bonded a little more with them. It was a great Anishinaabe filled weekend.

Stayed tuned when people start to wonder about Pebaam and Techie...are they becoming an item?

My Techie is eye candy

2006-11-11T14:14:00.000-06:00

Techie and her many personalities are coming out. Now that she is establishing residency, she is letting her hair down and getting comfortable.

One of her friends/personalities arrived this week. The modem for the wireless was shipped to the house but it is still in the box. Just gotta find time to take it out and hook it up. I find myself short on time these days so I need all the short cuts that I can take without sacraficing quality.

For my birthday this week, I recieved a web cam and a cordless mouse. The cordless mouse was easy to set up but not the web cam. I knew Waase Giniw Ikwe (our friendly co-hort down the street) had one of those gadgets so I asked for her help. What was needed was an additional program off the internet. Miigwech Waase Giniw Ikwe for hooking that up.
I went to class early the next day and projected my students on the web cam as they entered the classroom. They saw themselves on the big screen in the classroom and it was funny how they reacted when they saw themselves there, larger than life. Playing with Techie is a good way to get to know her.

I am really intrigued with power point because it is such an easy program and has many possibilities. It can take simple lecture material and turn it into eye candy. I must say that techie is visually pleasing. I now would like to turn a lot of my material in visually stimulating lectures. Again this takes time but I see the long term effects of that.

Working with a lap top, developing power point lectures, surfing the internet for information, adding to my blog, down loading articles for class reading, hooking up new technology, using a laser pointer, recording with the digital camera, using a proxima projector, hooking up with wireless internet, using a wireless mouse....is all so new, fast and seemingly limitless.

Stay tuned to the saga when Pebaam asks...is the sky really the limit to getting to know techie...?

As The Bannock Burns

2006-11-04T14:17:00.000-06:00

I decided that living with Techie is like living in a soap opera and the soap opera is called "As the Bannock Burns." The latest drama is that Techie is helping us get up to snuff at work and at home. Here is the latest...

I presented with power point for the first time this week. I gave a lecture on the four types of powwows for my Ojibwe Culture and History class and found power point made the job easier. Previously, I would write all the material on the board and ususally needed two large blackboard spaces. I liked powerpoint so much that I saved the presentation and plan to use it again in the future. I experienced technology as a time saver this week.

At home, I don't always get a wireless a connection and sometimes the signal is so weak that I lose the connection right in the middle of working on something. I think also I am stealing the neighbor's signal and that doesn't sit well with me either. The home computer is a dial-up and it is so slow and sometimes that quits on me too right in the middle of something.
Well I like being in the solution so we decided to order our own wireless connections. The phone company said we need to get a modem in order to have wireless. I'm not sure what that is but I think it helps transmit the signal, so we ordered it. So at home and at work, we are getting up to snuff.

Kinda looking forward to doing homework at home again, after all it is called "home" work.

Anyways, that is this week's drama as the bannock burns. Stayed tuned next week when pebaam asks...

we have made up

2006-10-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

My relationship with technology is so demanding and now wants me to be more available. My new love wants me to commit. I said you know how guys can’t commit. After thinking about it, I have decide to work on commitment and asked myself what is it going to take for me. If my relationship with technology is going to work then there has to be some give and take. Right now I have too much on my burner and don’t have enough time to devote to technology. The solution is to down size my activities and re-evaluate what is important. That is what I am prepared to do for this relationship...now techie is happy.

This week I used my digital camera to record short Ojibwe language segments. I was in my home community of Nigigoonsiminikaaning and filmed my mother cleaning ducks, snow falling down at my camp and a short walk to a spirit house. Short video clips is what I was after and then in my classes, I played them and asked the students to tell me the Ojibwe words that they heard. I then wrote out the words in Ojibwe for all to see, on the Proxima projector. That was really cool.

I volunteer at a school called Anishinaabe Academy where they are looking to incorporate Ojibwe language into the school. What I do is host a language table for them and try and teach them Ojibwe phrases that they can use in the classroom. I use my lap top to project with and then e-mail them the lesson we covered. That really saves on paper. This morning , I showcased a CD Rom that I was involved in. The producer of the CD Rom was in town and I got a copy of the first draft. It is taken from the Mishomis Book by Eddy Benton, the chapter on the Seven Grandfather teachings. It was all animated and we saw the chapter be acted out on the screen. I did the language part of the CD Rom and was quit pleased by the end result. Again I thought that was really cool.

Technology is pretty cool and I think we might have a future together. I'm glad we made up.

Is technology my niij?

2006-10-20T12:15:00.000-06:00

This week I questioned the relationship that I am developing with my new found friend, my niij. Now that the honey moon stage is over, are we really compatible and do we have a future together?

Well this has been a trying week for me with technology. I set aside Saturday to do work and the home computer would not pull up the article I needed. I am not quit sure why but it just didn't which made me think of a few choice words. I then tried using the lap top but for some reason I disengaged it from connecting to the internet. Again I did not know how I did that. So the weekend went by without any work being done. On Monday then, I decided to copy the article into my documents, which I did. When I got home, I realized then, that I did not put it on my flash drive to transfer to my lap top. So in total, four days went by while I struggled with just reading the assignment. Thursday morning I was able to read it and offer my insights.
One of the things I liked about it was I had both the article and my response up at the same time and as I read, I created my response. I moved back and forth from document to document and I was quit pleased with myself. I know, I know everybody does it but that was a first for me.

I was also reflecting on the use of technology for teaching. Technology seems to disassociate the teacher from the learner and meaningful interaction is sacraficed. I had that feeling when I had finished a lesson using the lap top and the LDS projector. I then asked myself about the amount of technology that is used for teaching and how technology has a way of consuming the user, at least in my case. I think the addictive aspect of it came into play then. I decided to apply the anishinaabe philosophy of 'everything in moderation' and use a variety of teaching methods and be versitile in the delivery. That is the solution I am opting with.

The blog option of doing a short cut to all the entries has my mind boggled. I am boggled by my blog. I asked my tech guy to help me and he made it look easy. I said, I think I can do it now. After he was gone, I couldn't do what he was doing. However I am determined to get unboggled.

The final aspect of my techno journey thus far that I wish to comment on is the time factor. I find that I need to fine tune my time management skills in order to get everything done in a timely fashion. I am creating all the short cuts that I can because of the limited time that I have. Just to give an example of my workload, currently, I am teaching an overload of courses, one more on top of my regular three plus this master program. I also help run four language tables in the evenings. My boss asked me when do I find time to sleep in which I responded, sleep...I knew I was forgetting something.
Such is my schedule and my relections on technology use thus far.

I conclude with... technology? can I make a good fit with you and I?

Techno savy bush Shinaab

2006-10-14T14:30:00.001-06:00

I gotta tell you guys this...I am so excited.

Well first it is Saturday and I am reflecting back on my week and thinking about my techno journey assignment. On Tuesday I used technology to run a language table. (I know, I know....how brave of me)
I had my lap top booted up and I was projecting with a Proxima projector. (I sound so cool knowing what to call it) I was showing video clips from a CD Rom, running a slide presentation from pictures I took on my digital camera, delivering a language lesson and showcasing a langauge booklet that I have been working on. I was so impressed with myself that I just felt so techno savy. (then I saw Nora's blog....aaay) I thought to myself, not bad for a bush Indian.
That experience prompted me and encouraged me to try using technology to teach with. So I did. My lap top was hooked up in the classroom and I was projecting on the screen, my lesson. Wow I thought to myself. I went from the 20th century to the 21st century at the speed of light or whorp speed at the least. I was using my two fingers to type with and using a laser pointer to highlight various aspects of the lecture. Being able to do that, I decided that I would like to put all my lectures on the lap top and learn other programs like power point (I know everyone knows power point but not me...)
I also bought myself a little flash drive and it is like carry around a little pocket computer. That little thing can carry so much, like pictures, documents...and then it was filled up. I quickly realized then that it could only carry so much.

So far this is what I have learned on my techno journey.

Techno savy bush Shinaab

2006-10-14T14:30:00.000-06:00

2006-10-10T21:19:00.000-06:00

My Techno Journey

I started this master’s course with very little if none or any skills related to using technology. Even as I type, I am a two fingered typist so writing takes time for me. One of the cohorts showed me how to download a typing program which I eagerly did. Now I forgot where I downloaded to…mmm, I think I put it in my e-mail. Anyways, my plan is to teach myself how to type. Any problems that I encounter in my life, this is how I approach them. I would rather be in the solution than stay in the problem. I am much happier and more satisfied with myself when I apply that philosophy.

With that, here are my other limitations.

I do not surf the internet because that technology is foreign to me. I do check my e-mail at work and can respond to people generally. However, I am very technologically challenged.

My journey began with getting into cyberspace which I mistakenly called hyperspace. Hyperspace apparently is where star trek and star wars takes place. Learning the technology and the names is a big part of my journey. The other thing I should mention is that I am having fun with all this and my fear of breaking something isn’t so prevalent any more.

Pebaam

Da baam did it...yaaa...

2006-10-09T22:23:00.000-06:00

Da baam did it. Good thing I know how to follow instructions but I ran into a problem. I had the home computer up while I was setting up my blog because it has a printer but it wouldn't print the instructions. I don't know why. I thought maybe I can memorize the instructions but that didn't work because first you gotta have a good memory. The second thing I thought is, I know, I'll write out the instructions and just read them and I thoght naaah...too much writing. So I said to myself...self, wait til tomorrow when you are at your printer. So I went to the lap top to shut it down and realized I don't need a printer, I have a home computer and a lap top. I read the instructions on one computer while I created the blog on the other computer.
So that's what I did...I'm so smart meeee...

Pebaam