The Lansdowne Letters: Lessons in Ojibway

When my father 

arrived in Lansdowne House

to teach in the fall of 1960,

he began studying the Ojibway language

almost immediately.

Dad's School

Church of England Indian Day School

Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario

Photo by Don MacBeath,  Fall of 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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He could not have had a better teacher

than Father Maurice Ouimet.

Father Ouimet was a French Canadian priest 

of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. 

He devoted a selfless thirty-seven years 

to working among the Indians of Lansdowne House.

Passionate about promoting literacy among the Indians,

Father Ouimet spent time teaching them

to write Ojibway in Syllabics.

Father Maurice Ouimet, OMI

with my father, Donald MacBeath

Fall, 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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Syllabics is a  Canadian Aboriginal writing system 

that uses symbols to represent consonant sounds.

An English missionary James Evans developed Syllabics 

when he worked among the Swampy Cree and Ojibwe 

in Northern Ontario and Manitoba in the 1830s and 1840s.

Father Ouimet gave weekly 

language lessons to my father,

mostly by writing Ojibway phonetically 

using the English alphabet,

but he also taught my father 

some of the Ojibway words using Syllabics.

 Myntne Nouise

Myrtle Louise

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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On Wednesday, September 28, 1960,

my father wrote:

I had another session with the Father 

in an effort to learn some more of the Ojibway language.  

I will be letting you know 

what words I learned in a few moments; 

but first, permit me 

a short dissertation on the language.  

The first thing you have to realize is 

that there is no alphabet in Ojibway.  

The language is written in Syllabics 

which is a form of hieroglyphics, 

and the words that I write to you 

are just the Indian sounds 

translated phonetically into English.  

It is an effort by the white man 

to try to fit his alphabet into a language 

that has no alphabet of its own.  

Another thing to remember 

is that all the English sounds 

aren’t present in Ojibway.  

For instance there are no “r” or “l” sounds, 

both sounds becoming n in Ojibway.  

Consequently, the name “Roland,” when translated, 

becomes Nonant, and “Roy” would be Noy.

  Noyan Stewant

Royal Stewart

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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However, the Indians are starting to use 

all the linguistic sounds of the white man.  

It is only when they try to write these sounds 

into Syllabics that they have trouble.  

Also “b” becomes p in Syllabics, 

“d” becomes t, 

and “f “becomes v.

My name translated into Syllabics becomes Tonant.  

Well, here are the new words:

Kisis----------------------sun

Tipiki---------------------night

Tipiki Kisis--------------moon (night sun)

Washekwon------------It is sunny.

Kimiwan-----------------It is raining, or it is rainy.

Kon-----------------------snow

Sokipon------------------It is snowing.

Kisiswaiab---------------rainbow

Waiab--------------------cord or string (You can see that the

rainbow is literally cord of the sun.)

Mino Kishegaw--------It is a very nice day (or it is a nice day).

Matchi Kishegaw------It is a very bad day (stormy).

Wakaigan----------------house

Wakaiganens-----------small or little house

Wakaiganish------------run down house, or poor house

Nabens-------------------boy

Ikuesens-----------------girl (little woman)

Ikues----------------------woman or wife

Anishinabe--------------man (single)

Nabe----------------------man (married)

Nikosis-------------------my son

Kikosis-------------------your son

Notonis-------------------my daughter

Kitonis--------------------your daughter

Your name in syllabics, Sara, would be Sana; 

and yours, Mother, Myrtle that is, would be Myntne.

  Nouise with Nopenta Anne 

Finding Bertie and me apart is a challenge.

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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Louise would be Nouise.  

Barbara would be Panapana.  

Roberta would be Nopenta.

Roy’s full name would be Noyan Stewant.  

Barbie’s full name is cute:  

Panapana Enna (Barbara Ella).

Panapana Enna 

Barbara Ella

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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Below my signature, 

I am going to type two English words, 

then the same two in phonetic Ojibway, 

and then the same word in Syllabics.  

By the way, Ojibway translated 

into Syllabics

becomes Ojipway.

Bye now,

Love , 

Tonant (Don)

On Thursday, September 29, 1960,

my father added:

I didn’t forget Donnie 

when I was giving you all the names in Ojibway.

It is just that I figured 

that you could figure her name 

from my name and yours Sara; 

then I got thinking that 

the poor little dear might feel slighted 

if she didn’t see her name, which would be Sana Tonanta.

Sana Tonanta

Sara Donalda

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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We Five, Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia

Grammie's Backyard, Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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