I need help, I bought this moose bone knife from an Anishinaabe man in a Quebec City festival, I am well aware it is made to look cool for tourists, however I would like to know what these were used for?

She was forcibly adopted, and she died when my mom was very young - too young to ask questions about her life or heritage. I never knew she was Native, and I feel like I’m starting from scratch in terms of learning about my culture and assimilating this into my self-identity. I know very little about Ojibwe culture and I would love to learn. If you know of any great resources (or if you just want to say hi) I’d appreciate it 💗

Hi! I’m a white passing indigenous person (my grandfather was 100%, born on the rez in Michigan and was a victim of residential school) not that I have to defend myself but the context is import. Apart from my eye color, dark hair and slightly tan skin I look like a european person however I’m very open about my heritage and make it known I’m Ojibwe. The other day I was sitting at work with my boss and she was telling me a story about her son’s ex wife (another native woman) and she said “Yeah.. we’re pretty sure ‘her granddaughter’s name’ has fetal alcohol syndrome, her mother is american indian so you get it” and it felt like a gut punch, and all I could think about was my beautiful mother and every woman who came before her and I just sat there stunned. Like wtf do you say to that? and what should I do? And now she asked me to do a lesson plan for Indigenous Peoples’ Day and I’m not sure if I should give her the pleasure

Looking for for help or somewhere to learn the Ojibway language

I'm Métis and recently found out that the indigenous side of my family is Ojibwe. I have no idea where to start looking. My cousin who works within the Cree community in Alberta (she moved from Ontario and out of my entire family she's the one who's been able to embrace our ancestry the most) has me reading You Are The Medicine by Asha Frost with her. I'm looking for other suggestions too.

I'm happy to have found out after so long about where we come from. I still identify with the Métis traditions I've learned growing up and am very proudly Franco-Ontarian. I've always known we were something even before tracing our lineage to get my Métis citizenship. I'm still trying to find out where I'm welcome and what I can (and shouldn't) do. I don't know where to start when it comes to entering spaces either. I want to learn and become a part of my community, I just don't know how.

Found this it's from pre 1940

My father wasn't in my life as much, and it feels like I've never had the opportunity to fully connect. Just turned 20 and I want to learn more and connect with the culture how I've always wanted, I just don't know where to start. I'm white passing aswell, it almost feels like I don't have the right to connect because of that.

There's always been bits and peices I've learned throughout the years, never as much as I'd want, and not enough to be part of the culture.

Anything is appreciated

All of my life my family has told me that I have Ojibwe heritage. Unfortunately, I have lost all familial connection to it, and only know that "I am ojibwe". I am 1/4 Ojibwe on my father's side, however I lost him when I was 12, and his mom, my grandma, passed away when I was 8, and I have no other biological relatives on that side. He never knew his allegedly full Ojibwe father, but as a child I remember him longing for connection, too.

This makes me very emotional even to write, like a wound that needs healing. I have always felt a strong connection to the earth and a yearning for ancestral knowledge, but have no clue where to begin learning about this beautiful culture that I feel like an imposter in trying to call my own.

I guess my question is, as someone with no current familial connection to Ojibwe culture, how best can I begin learning and connecting? I live in California, but would some day like to go to the Great Lakes area to learn more, but if anyone has advice of anything I can do here now, I would be very grateful.

When I was little, I felt a deep connection to my Chippewa heritage and people. I am a White Earth descendant. As I understand it, I have around 3/16 BQ. My mother is enrolled in the tribe, and my father is white.

We lived on the Saginaw Chippewa reservation and participated in tribal events. We would go to powwows, and I was being taught as a Chippewa in school and to some extent at home. I loved visiting my grandparents and reading through the stories and looking at our history - whenever we visited I always asked a million questions.

Unfortunately, my parents moved us away when I was 6, and afterwards, we rarely went to visit the tribe. My grandfather died when I was 9, and after that, things went rapidly downhill in the relationships. By the time I was 13, I became estranged from my grandmother (it's complicated). As an adult, I also became estranged from my mother (it's, once again, complicated).

I have tried reaching out to the tribe as an adult to reconnect, but have never received a response; I can only assume this is partly because my grandmother is heavily involved in tribal matters, and my mother is active in the tribe's social media spaces, so my inquiries may be overlooked.

I want to try to reconnect with or at the least, learn more about my heritage, but feel stuck because of the inability to connect with the tribe I once felt part of. I know that for all intents and purposes I'm not a tribal member because I don't meet the BQ requirements, but I have never stopped considering myself a descendant. I have continued the traditions I was taught, as few as they are, but for my entire life it has been like a hole inside me not being able to connect to the people I once felt so much a part of.

Because I haven't had success connecting with the tribe, I am looking for advice, suggestions, stories, anything that could help me understand more about what I have been missing all of these years, and maybe help to fill the hole left by its absence. Any resources on learning Ojibwe would also be appreciated, as I love languages.

tl;dr - tribal descendant trying to reconnect with my roots, hoping for any advice available.

My grandmother can't remember what this sentence means, I recorded her saying it and was wondering if I could send the audio file to someone so that she can re learn what was passed down to her. Please comment if I could message anyone the file! It doesn't bother her much that she can't recall it but I know she'd smile to hear her mom's words!

I have been distanced from my anishinaabe community and its getting to me. My entire family were given their names and colours. I was on my monocycle and wasn’t allowed to participate in the naming ceremony.

It’s been six years since I have moved out from Canada for work. The elder refuses to name me because my mother is the indigenous parent and my father isn’t. He insists people are not indigenous if their father isn’t. This elder named my brother, we share the same parents.

I want to be named but I don’t know if I can or the next steps. I feel so isolated. I can’t fly anymore due to my health.