Ojibwe Immersion Early Literacy

Abstract

The Common Core Standards for Wisconsin provides specific discipline areas in which demonstrate a level of proficiency for all students. This ethnographic study examines how meeting these standards for language arts in reading and writing conflicted with the cultural and social norms in an Ojibwe immersion environment for Anishinaabe early learners of text. The significance of this project was to identify and understand the adaptations that were necessary in order to provide students with the ability to acquire foundational reading skills in a second language where Ojibwe culture is directly embedded. The culturally appropriate adaptations are described in detail through the analysis of data collected. The superimposition of the standards for reading and writing does not acknowledge, nor does it reflect the value system of the Indigenous people whose culture and history are entwined in oral tradition, also where a considerable shortage in literature is prevalent. Suggested research include the careful thought of cultural appropriateness in using traditional storytelling in print and what ethical discussions are necessary to provide Ojibwe immersion schools with language arts curriculum to meet the recent educational standards mandated by state and federal officials while never losing site of the distinct identity of the Anishinaabeg.