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Jim Clark Naawigiizis Ricing

Jim Clark, Naawigiizis, or Center of the Moon, an Ojibwe of the Eagle Clan, was born in a birch bark house during ricing time in 1918 at the Mille Lacs reservation and has lived between there and Minneapolis, Minnesota for the greater part of his live. He was an Army medic during WWII, serving in England and Germany before his discharge in 1945. He is married to Jessie Clark, whose Ojibwe name is Mookwewidamookwe (page 4 of cover).
Areas for ricing were pretty well organized. Each family group had their own camp and rice bed area….This was rice camp at Fish Lake, southwest of Mora, so he went to our home at the Lake Lena area. An old Model T carried us, a boat, kettle, winnowing baskets, a few clothes, and wood for parching, plus bedding and cooking pots. Ricing time, we always camped.
from
James Clark, Naawigiizis: The Memories of Center of the Moon, ed. Louise Erdrich (Minneapolis: Birchbark Books, 2002), 62.

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary is developed and maintained by:
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John D. Nichols, Founder and Linguistic Editor

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