Ezhi-waanimazinbiiganankewag: The Way They Write Circular Images MARGARET NOORI University of Michigan “Ezhi-waani mazinbiiganankewag—The Way They Write Circular Images” began with a paper titled, “Mazinbii’igan G’daa-dibaadadaanaa—Talking about Pictures: A Lesson Plan With a Perspective on Pro¿ciency,” which was a workshop at the 13th Annual Anishinaabemowin-Teg Language Con- ference in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2007. The workshop was based on the need for teachers and students in Anishinaabemowin learning communi- ties to address two important issues. First, teaching must include a shared de¿nition of pro¿ciency divided into several levels. There must be a way to mark the capacity of teachers and the progress of students. Second, when- ever possible, lessons should reÀect the aesthetic values of the Anishinaabe community so that students increase their knowledge of culturally relevant topics as well as their capacity to formulate their own descriptions and of Anishinaabe subjects. This essay provides one approach to standards and course content, but it is the work of only one team. Many other individuals and teams teaching throughout Anishinaabe-akiing will have other models and ideas. At the University of Michigan, the original team of teachers consisted of both ¿rst- and second-language speakers. Irving “Hap” McCue, Howard Kimewon, and I all contributed to the lesson plans, biography of Daphne Odjig, and classroom sentences. McCue, in his seventies at the time of the project, was a ¿rst-language speaker from Curve Lake Nation and an instructor at the University of Michigan for over 30 years. His exposure to literacy and Algonquian linguistics was considerable, yet he never took the lead in creating curriculum. Kimewon, in his ¿fties at the time of the project, is a ¿rst-language speaker from Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation. He worked on this project during his ¿rst year of teaching when orthographic and linguistic ideas were something he had only recently begun to study. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, I was in my forties at the time 195 SP_PAC41_10_195-207.indd 195 9/25/13 10:19 AM 196 MARGARET NOORI and am a second-language speaker af¿liated with the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians and Metis community of Quebec. Although I hold a PhD in linguistics, I am the younger, female speaker of western origin, which contrasts sharply with the biography and role of the other members of the team. Errors of grammar and orthography should be considered mine primarily due to my lack of exposure to various eastern forms and my own lack of practice in teaching which improves continually. In this paper, I have attempted to use the Fiero double vowel spelling system, which is the system we teach in class. Also, it should be noted that early on in our teaching partnership we agreed to “write everything.” There were many instances when both Hap and I would add internal and initial vowels which Howard acknowledged “were there in his thinking.” We all agreed to write the full standard version of as many words as possible because these let- ters often “reappear” when words are combined and conjugated, or when a student meets other speakers. We recognize that this is contrary to the careful attempts of others to preserve variation, but as teachers focused on revitalization we felt strongly that the lingua franca or shared standard should be the focus of our efforts. Others can preserve and deconstruct the sociolinguistic history of differences between dialects. We have been work- ing to build consensus around contemporary communication in a register that can span multiple communities. The ¿rst topic of this essay is the search for a shared de¿nition of pro¿ciency divided into several levels. Work has been done in many indi- vidual Anishinaabe communities, but not yet by a State Board of Education in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or North Dakota, where the language is spoken. At the post-secondary level, several programs have been created, but they have used individual rubrics, if any, for grading and assessment. In Ontario, a resource guide was created to serve as “a supporting docu- ment for the teaching of language patterns” in Ojibwe and Cree (Ministry of Education, 2002). This document offers excellent guidelines for core content that can lead to pro¿ciency, but is rarely referenced in the United States. With no reigning precedent, the University of Michigan instructors chose to use generic pro¿ciency models provided by the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers (ACTFL). Although the very name of the organization fosters colonial racism by de¿ning all languages other than SP_PAC41_10_195-207.indd 196 9/25/13 10:19 AM EZHI-WAANIMAZINBIIGANANKEWAG 197 English as “foreign,” Anishinaabemowin language instructors can still ben- e¿t from use of the standards and descriptions provided by ACTFL. Not only does this indicate that the indigenous languages can, and should, be held to the same standards as all other languages, the objective descrip- tions of learning outcomes leads to an assessment of language skill that is not overshadowed by vocabulary and dialect. For instance, administrators can use this rubric when talking to applicants about their language skills, although the hiring of¿cials often do not know the language themselves. Ideally, employers might ask the applicant to submit written and oral evi- dence of the skills required for the job which could then be reviewed by one or more Àuent speakers. The ¿rst ACTFL Pro¿ciency Guidelines for Speaking were written in 1986 and were revised based on use and research in 1999. The primary aims of the guidelines are to describe speaking pro¿ciency. The authors note, “this effort reÀects a broad spectrum of experience in characterizing speaker abilities and includes a wide range of insights as a result of on- going discussions and research within the language teaching profession” (ACTFL, Speaking, 7). The Guidelines for Speaking describe ten levels based on low, mid and high performance in the novice, intermediate and advanced categories with a single superior level at the top of the hierarchy. To begin sharing standards across the state and region, the University of Michigan chose to create a simpli¿ed paraphrase of the standards. Indi- vidual instructors are encouraged to build curriculum using the full descrip- tions, but the simpli¿ed version of the guidelines are an appropriate starting place at this historical point in the revitalization of Anishinaabemowin. Students and teachers of Anishinaabemowin who use the chart are forced to reckon with the reality of the precipice upon which we are poised. How many students under 40 are in the advanced category in any community? Under 30? Under 20? Under 10? For too long, many teachers, students, and funding agencies have been satis¿ed by programs that only scratch the surface of novice-level pro¿ciency. It is time that communities are chal- lenged to move toward intermediate and advanced levels. Note the clear scaffolding of skills, making the difference between novice and advanced more pronounced. SP_PAC41_10_195-207.indd 197 9/25/13 10:19 AM 198 MARGARET NOORI Novice Intermediate Advanced Relies on memorized Can recombine phrases Creates new correct phrases. correctly. phrases. Often understood only Understood by a variety Understood by most by the teacher. of teachers or speakers speakers. used to students. May pause often and Some pauses but can Rarely pauses when insert ¿rst language. complete thoughts entirely speaking and stays in in the language. the target language. Understands only Understands main ideas Understands concrete familiar words spoken about concrete topics and abstract ideas at slowly and repeated. spoken at a Àuent pace. Àuent pace with no repetition and uses context to de¿ne new words. Recognizes cultural Recognizes cultural Recognizes cultural signi¿cance of select signi¿cance of select signi¿cance of select words and phrases. words and phrases. words and phrases. Understands and uses Understands and uses culturally appropriate culturally appropriate expressions of emotion. expressions of emotion. Has clear pronun- ciation and uses culturally speci¿c patterns of sound to impact meaning. In many areas, Anishinaabemowin is still taught without a literacy component. There are many opinions on the ef¿cacy and ef¿ciency of this approach, but it is most important that a community determine their own standards and attempt to use objective measures of progress. At the Uni- versity of Michigan, literacy is a part of the instruction during all three years of study and the ACTFL Pro¿ciency Guidelines for Writing revised in 2001 are referenced for assessment. However, due to regional variation in instruction, only the speaking standards are currently used for comparison across communities. A ¿nal set of standards connects the pro¿ciency to the content of the curriculum. With content as the second concern of this essay, these standards SP_PAC41_10_195-207.indd 198 9/25/13 10:19 AM EZHI-WAANIMAZINBIIGANANKEWAG 199 are important. The National Standards in Foreign Language Education Task Force identi¿ed “Five C’s,” or main concepts, of language education. The ¿rst concept is communication which the task force noted is “the heart of second language study, whether the communication takes place face-to-face, in writing, or across centuries through the reading of literature” (ACTFL, Foreign, p. 3). In native communities the ability to communicate is par- ticularly important because students are often bridging two worlds and are involved in many changing relationships throughout their lives. The second concept is a de¿nition of culture as represented by lan- guage. “By studying a second language,” the report says, “students gain a knowledge and understanding of the culture that uses that language and, in fact, students cannot truly master the language until they have also mas- tered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs” (Ibid.).