Anishinaabe Aadziwin

For our second blog post in the Anishinaabe Laws, Customs & Traditions research report outcomes series, we thought we’d provide a ‘primer’ on the context for the report. Many readers may already know the concept of Anishinaabe Aadziwin, but because of its importance for both Anishinaabe people and for the Koognaasewin Child Well-Being Law development process, what follows is an overview of Anishinaabe Aadzwin.

Anishinaabe Aadziwin

Anishinaabe Adziwin means the “Anishinaabe Way of Life or the life which the Anishinaabe were expected to live to reach their full potential as individuals and family members. Through her community engagement with North Shore Elders, Sarah Jackson, heard that “aadziwin” means the way of “life of everyone”.  

Anishinaabe teachings on how people can live up to their full potential are grounded in the Anishinaabe language – Anishinaabemowin. Our teachings and our language - Anishinaabemowin tell us to live on respectful and reciprocal (give back) terms with all of Creation at the spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical level as well as through family, clan, nation, and universe. The Good Life, the Anishinaabe Way of Life is guided by the Seven Grandfather Teachings of Love, Honesty, Respect, Truth, Bravery, Wisdom and Humility.

Another key aspect of Anishinaabemowin and Anishinaabe teachings is the way Anishinaabe people look at the world around them – their World View. Most things around us, most life, is alive (also referred to as animate). This is a central aspect of Anishinaabemowin. Through the language, many of the things around us are referred to as alive. In the western language of English, this is referred to as a Noun. But Anishinaabe people have always given life to other things in their environment, especially animals, trees, rocks, the sun, the moon, etc. For Anishinaabe people, all of these living objects are considered alive and sacred. Because of how Anishinaabe teachings and Anishinaabemowin show respect and a deep understanding of the world around them, Anishinaabe also understand and respect their dependency on family, community, animals, plants, and other relations. The physical world, the plant world, the animal world and the human world are intertwined – meaning they are all part of one another. People are not separate from the animals, plants or other relations.

As such, nature is one of our greatest teachers. The earth and all her inhabitants have the spirit of the Creator within them. For many Anishinaabe, this connection to everything around means that Anishinaabe people see themselves as responsible for maintaining balance between all living things.

Anishinaabe Aadziwin & Koognaasewin – Raising Children

A key aspect of the Koognaasewin Initiative is for Anishinaabe aadziwin – The Good Life, to once again play a central role in the practices and laws that protect and nurture our children. To do so, many Elders and Knowledge Keepers that the Law researchers spoke with pointed to the need to bring back and/or increase the use of those events and experiences – those Ceremonies, that reconnect Anishinaabe children, youth, and all community members to Anishinaabe aadzwin – The Good Life. For many, this means respecting the traditional objects that are alive (animate) and that hold their own power - such as masks, drums, and other ceremonial items, as well as traditional clothing and dance. Everything in life is ceremonial and requires the appropriate protocols to be followed. Knowledge-holder and ash-basket maker, Art Petahtegoose says that when we think about our way of being, way of seeing, way of being Anishinaabe, it is different than the modern, industrial world. From the western perspective, everything is an object. For Anishinaabe, everything is spirit, everything is alive, and we need to learn about this difference and learn to appreciate it. 

This understanding extends to the treatment and care of children, and to caring for one’s own life. For Anishinaabe, children are viewed as gifts from the Creator and need to be nurtured, raised and taught the ways of Anishinaabe Aadziwin. Pamela Rose Toulouse reminds us that, “there is a teaching in the Anishinabek Nation that all Anishinaabe people were spirits in the Spirit World and we decided to be born into this human existence. As spirits we chose the parents that would care for us and had seen how our human life may occur. We entered this world as babies with the understanding that as spirits we will one day return to that Spirit World.” This is Anishinaabe Adziwin. In the past, these teachings guided parents and extended family members in their traditional raising of children. Through Anishinaabe Aadziwin, parents and extended family members encouraged children to follow their own path and to take responsibility for the world around them in concrete and respectful ways.

Our third blog post will focus on the Seven Grandfather Teachings and their role in both raising children and Law development.