Ntjigsu’g

I am Mi’gmaq/Mennonite on my father’s side and Scottish/Irish on my mother’s side. I grew up in Southern Ontario, on the unceded traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and the Attawandaron (Neutral) peoples in an area now known as the Haldimand Tract. My grandmother’s home community of Listuguj is situated beside the Restigouche River in Gesepe’gewa’gi in Mi’gma’gi, and I am connected to that land as a proud member of the Listuguj community.

My grandmother was a fluent Mi’gmaq speaker and gave me my name, Jipji’j (Little Bird). She probably chose this because I loved to eat (and she loved to bake, so it worked out), but I have since come to understand that even the littlest bird can have a powerful voice. I work to reclaim my language, one word at a time, because as  Elder Albert Marshall once told me, I’m not learning my language but remembering it. As a neurodiverse person, however, learning/remembering can be quite a challenge, so my progress is slow.

I hope to contribute to language revitalization efforts, so please contact me if you’re a Mi’gmaw language speaker or knowledge holder and need help with book design or writing.

The same goes if you are a Mi’gmaw youth who needs writing help. Your voice is important and we need your stories, so I would be honoured to be your writing Auntie.

Wela’lin for visiting!