Maajiigwaneyaash, Dr. Gordon Jourdain, recreates Ojibwe legends for the 6th Annual Aadizookewin: Traditional Ojibwe Storytelling in Grand Portage. All photos by Alex Dobbins.

By Alex Dobbins for Boreal Community Media - February 27, 2024

On Friday, February 23, 2024, Oshki Ogimaag Community School hosted its 6th Annual Aadizookewin: Traditional Ojibwe Storytelling. The event was held in Grand Portage, MN, at the Log Community Building. Maajiigwaneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain), was the guest of honor and main storyteller that evening. 

Maajiigwaneyaash shared that he learned his sacred teachings from “Elders, a lot of different Elders. My mother was from Northern Minnesota around the Lake Vermilion area, and my dad was from Canada, so I learned a lot about those teachings along the border lakes…. They are all similar. It's not a linear story, it's all more like a cobweb of stories that are interconnected.” 

Maajiigwaneyaash first began the event by speaking the Ojibwe sacred teachings in his native language, which he would then retell in the English language. The Aadizookewin (sacred teachings) he shared were all connected with each other and shared the Ojibwe’s understanding of the world and how it operates. 

Thank you to Oshki Ogimaag Community School and Maajiigwaneyaash who shared with the community Aadizookewin, the Ojibwe winter oral tradition.

 Friends and family eating before the 6th Annual Aadizookewin Ojibwe Winter Storytelling in Grand Portage hosted by Oshki Ogimaag Community School.

 Erik Redix introduces the guest of honor Maajiigwaneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain)

Maajiigwaneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain), shares an Aadizookewin, or a sacred story, of the Ojibwe during winter.

Maajiigwaneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain) and his uncle continue the oral tradition of Aadizookewin, or Ojibwe winter storytelling, at the Log Community Building in Grand Portage.

 Community members watch and listen to Maajiigwaneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain).

Maajiigwawneyaash (Dr. Gordon Jourdain) recreates a bird flying during one of the winter Ojibwe legends at the 6th Annual Aadizookewin, hosted by the Oshki Ogimaag Community School in Grand Portage.