On this episode of Ojibwe Stories: Gaganoonididaa, Brian McInnes talks with Obizaan [Lee Staples], a spiritual advisor for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Chato Gonzalez about ceremonial traditions - including funerals - and striving for better cross-cultural cooperation and understanding.
2/16 Ojibwe Stories - Gaganoonididaa: Cross-Cultural Understanding
Obizaan [Lee Staples] is a first language speaker raised in Aazhomog where only Ojibwemowin was spoken. The family in which he was raised was totally immersed in a traditional way of life. As a result, Obizaan has the ability to do most of the ceremonies given to and practiced by the Ojibwe people. He is drum keeper in Aazhomog and runs a Mide Lodge in Mille Lacs.
Ojibwe Stories: Gaganoonididaa is produced by KUMD and the Department of American Indian Studies at UMD, with funding provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.