Languages of the land: Odeshkun Thusky on zaagi’idiwin, love – Canadian Geographic

May 13, 2024

In the sixth part of the “Languages of the Land” digital series, the Anishinabeg dancer and drummer speaks to Canadian Geographic on love, hope and the importance of preserving language

My name is Odeshkun. I am from Kitigan Zibi and Barriere Lake.

On an important word in Omàmìwininìmowin (Algonquin)

Zaagi’idiwin, that’s the word of love. It has a lot of meanings, personally, because it’s part of our seven grandfather teachings. We have teachings in our culture and each one represents a … I don’t want to say “stage,” but your personality should have these in it. There’s seven of them. There’s truth, there’s wisdom, there’s humility, there’s honesty and there’s love. So you have to have all six to be able to love; you have to have all of the other six to be able to have zaagi’idiwin. You’ve got to have wisdom to love, you’ve got to have truth to love… honesty. Even for me, love — personally — it’s a big thing for me, too. It’s a big part of everybody’s life. So that’s what zaagi’idiwin is: it’s a big, big part of my life.

On what the International Decade of Indigenous Languages means

Read More: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/languages-of-the-land-odeshkun-thusky-on-zaagiidiwin-love/