Ingodwaaswi

Yay!! It is officially spring, but it is still cold. We had hoped to head up to Bad River this weekend to help in the sugarbush, but the weather isn't right for the sap to run well. Maybe next weekend we will take our small grandsons out to what was Porky White's sugarbush here just so they can see what it is like. We've taken them before though.
More good news, I have finally graduated myself from the Elder movie to the Hunters movie. NOT that I am proficient with the language with the Elder movie but progress is being made and each day I listen/watch the entire video, do the reading portion so I can practice the words I don't know (many) and at least one of the activities. I am still just watching and listening to the hunters, but am thoroughly enjoying it. I like to hear the laughter. I must remember the sound of my dad's Ojibwe the most because it sounds so much like him and he passed in 1971, It's probably also because he was such a good hunter.
I am practicing my speech a few times each day and am working on the Power Point to go with it. I still have problems saying it out loud to someone else but am able to verbalize when I am by myself with my mistakes. I am starting to work on that by having post it notes up so I can practice.
I haven't quite known what to do about helping my grandsons to learn at least some vocabulary. My daughter is Dakota (adopted), so her sons' lineage of course is also Dakota. My Dakota vocabulary is almost nil. We finally talked about it and decided we would try to help them learn at least some Ojibwe words and phrases. Thus, post it notes to remind us all.
It is somewhat discouraging because progress comes slowly. Cousin Dana tells me to keep at it, once it starts it will come quickly.