Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

Wild rice waters

The problem of control of water levels is a very delicate one, since there are two opposing factions. One faction is made up of lake resort owners, who want high water for propagation of fish for resort purposes; the other, for lower water levels for the growing of wild rice and other aquatic plants.
from
James Kauffman, Supervisor of Extension Work letter dated January 17, 1939, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75 BIA (National Archives)

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

with support and collaboration from the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies and University Libraries.

Additional Resources

Many of the words in the Ojibwe People's Dictionary have related resources. Click through to the full dictionary entry to hear audio recordings, see images, read documents and watch videos. Here's a key to resource icons.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

Speakers & Regions Key

Individual speakers and speakers from different regions use different words when speaking. Each audio recording is marked with the initials of the Ojibwe speaker. Click on a speaker's initials to go to the speaker's bio page. If an Ojibwe word is particular to a certain region, it will be marked with a region code. Click on the region code to go to the Regions page.