Chi-mewinzha Chi-mewinzha Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake u Dorothy Dora Whipple, Mezinaashiikwe Edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz and Brendan Fairbanks Illustrations by Annmarie Geniusz University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges the generous assis- tance provided for the publication of this book by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures. Stories recorded by Errol Geniusz, Annmarie Geniusz, Mary Geniusz, and Wendy Makoons Geniusz. The original audio recordings of Ojibwe Elder Dorothy Dora Whipple telling her stories have kindly been made available online and free of charge through the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary. http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu. Copyright 2015 by Dora Whipple All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechan- ical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401–2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Whipple, Dorothy Dora. Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe stories from Leech Lake / Dorothy Dora Whipple, Mezinaashiikwe; edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz and Brendan Fairbanks; illus- trations by Annmarie Geniusz. Text in English and in Ojibwe. ISBN 978-0-8166-9726-7 (pb) 1. Whipple, Dorothy Dora. 2. Ojibwa Indians—Folklore. 3. Ojibwa Indians— History. 4. Ojibwa Indians—Social life and customs. 5. Leech Lake Indian Reser- vation (Minn.)—Folklore. 6. Leech Lake Indian Reservation (Minn.)—Social life and customs. 7. Ojibwa language—Texts. I. Geniusz, Wendy Djinn, editor. II. Fair- banks, Brendan, editor. III. Title. IV. Title: Ojibwe stories from Leech Lake. E99.C6W47 2015 398.2089’97333—dc23 2015006579 Printed in Canada on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Introduction: Stories of a Leech Lake Elder Wendy Makoons Geniusz ix Editors’ Remarks Brendan Fairbanks xv Chi-mewinzha Ogii-waabamaawaan Chi-ozagaskwaajimen 2 They Saw a Big Leech 3 Bagijigeyan Asemaa 6 When You Make a Tobacco Offering 7 Ziigwan, Niibin, Dagwaagin, Biboon 12 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Version 1) 13 Ziigwan, Niibin, Dagwaagin, Biboon 18 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Version 2) 19 Iskigamizigeng 26 Boiling Sap 27 Ji-bagijiged O-miigaazod 34 To Make an Offering When He Goes to War 35 Agoodwewin 38 Snaring 39 Gii-pi-bajiishka’ondwaa 40 When They Came to Give Them Shots 41 Gii-twaashin Mikwamiing 44 He Fell through the Ice 45 Shut Up! 48 Shut Up! 49 Bagida’waang Zaaga’iganiing 52 Fishing with a Net on a Lake 53 Wii-maji-doodawaad Awiiya A’aw Gookooko’oo 56 When the Owl Treated Someone Bad 57 Agoodweng Waaboozoon 60 Snaring a Rabbit 61 Manoominike-zaaga’igan 64 Rice Lake 65 Gii-maazhendam Gii-nanawizid 70 He Was Upset When He Was Empty-Handed 71 Ogii-miigaadaanaawaa I’iw Waazakonenjigan Imaa Atood Miinawaa Iw Aazhogan 74 They Fought to Have That Stoplight and Bridge Put In 75 Imbiindaakoojige Imaa Asiniing 80 I Made an Offering There on the Rock 81 Makwa Ingii-pimaaji’ig 86 Bear Saved My Life 87 Notes on Orthography 91 Transcription Notes Brendan Fairbanks 95 Glossary 115 Introduction: Stories of a Leech Lake Elder Wendy Makoons Geniusz Dorothy Dora Whipple, Mezinaashiikwe, is one of the most amaz- ing women I know. She is a grandmother, with five generations of descendants living all over the country, although she adds that most of her grandchildren live in Minnesota and Seattle, Washington. She is a fluent Ojibwe speaker who consciously held on to and continued to speak her language when many people of her generation were unable to do so. As she tells us in one of her stories, she remembers when one of her older sisters came home from residential boarding school unable to communicate with her siblings because she no longer spoke Ojibwe. Despite living in poverty and often having no assistance, Dorothy fed, clothed, raised, and loved many children. When I asked her what she wanted to include in this Introduction, she said, “I raised a lot of kids, mostly my grandkids.” She had seven children, but she lost three, one boy and two girls. She formally adopted one of her grandchildren, and she was a foster mother for many years. She is ninety-four years old now, but I doubt that most people who meet her would know it. She is incredibly active, still living in her own home, and continues to care for her family, as she has for decades. The Ojibwe People of Leech Lake As she has expressed to us several times, Dorothy sees Chi-mewinzha (which means “long ago”) as a collection of her stories, not a book about individual members of her family or about more general Ojibwe ix