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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

makadeke vai es
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s/he blackens h/ face with charcoal (as when fasting for a vision)



nimakadeke 1s ind; makadeke 3s ind; makadeked 3s conj; mekadeked 3s ch-conj; Stem: /makadeke-/

nimakadeke1s ind es
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makadeke 3s ind es
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makadeked3s conj es
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mekadeked3s ch-conj es
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Ozhiitaawag igiw mewine'igewaad. Mii azhigwa makadekewaad.

The war party is getting ready. They're starting to paint their faces black.
 es
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makadeke /makadeke-/: /makadew-/
black
; /-ike/
s/he makes, produces, gathers

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.

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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.

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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.