NISHNAABE-LANGUAGE IMMERSION BY BARBARA NOLAN
Kwe Bezhik Shkiinzhik Gaa-yaanzig
“The Woman Who Was Missing an Eye”
26 min.

Miigwech to Margaret Hele, Barbara Burns and Roseanna McCoy for their camerawork and kind assistance in helping us to record this video.

Perhaps sometimes we are simply unable to sense just how much we are loved by another. In this video about the depth of love that Waabgan-kwe has for her son Nimkiins, we witness the unselfish sacrifice that a mother makes for her young child so that he can enjoy his life to the fullest.

Does Nimkiins sense her love? Does he feel gratitude for her unselfishness? How does he acknowledge her sacrifice? How does he ultimately return thanks for her gift? In “Kwe Bezhik Shkiinzhik Gaa-yaanzig,” Barbara Nolan encourages each of us to wonder whether there might be some selfless acts of love that others have gifted us with of which we are not yet aware.


By Barbara Nolan

Barbara Nolan is a first-speaker of Nishnaabemwin who has spent several decades working with a variety of organizations to revitalize the Nishnaabe language. Most recently, her dream of passing her language on has come true: Barbara has successfully passed her language on to John Paul Montano. This website, barbaranolan.com, is one part of their continuing efforts to help other Nishnaabe people acquire the language.