Anooj izhitigweyaa i'iw ziib

circa 2025

Anooj izhitigweyaa i'iw ziib is an exhibit honoring the tradition of collecting and sharing stories from one generation to the next. The exhibit features photographic, video and audio works created by newly developing artists seeking to honor the stories and teachings of knowledgeable elders from their communities. The stories that were collected and presented are from Nett Lake Village / Bois Forte Nation and Cass Lake, Bena, WInnie Dam and Inger / Leech Lake Reservation. The collectors of these stories are all graduates of the Nigaane Bizindamoo-Makak Language Immersion Program of the Bug O Nay Ge Shig School and were created as part of the Waterer’s Project, an initiative dedicated to creating a model for contemporary storytelling between generations. The image presented below are being presented in part in their home communities, in Saint Paul and Crookston.

The majority of the young people when I was growing up were respectful because they were taught by their parents. And of course, there was some that that weren't, they made fun of you, you know, the ones that didn't show that respect. But I was taught respect from the elders. I listened to the elders talk. I can still hear them sometimes talking in the language. Our mother spoke her language all the time. Her father didn't so much, but he did speak the language. Listening to the elders, how they they told the stories about all kinds of different things. It was talked about respect. So that's what I learned. You know, I learned how to respect people.

—Shirley Young / Elder from the Bena & Winnie Dam Communities of Leech Lake Reservation

Our waterers

Click on any of the images below to listen to individual

stories, histories and teachings of the waterers program

listen to our waterers on spotify

/

listen to our waterers on spotify /

community mentors

Deanna Drift

Esther Humphrey

Maggie Goodwin

Cammile Naslund

Gerald White

Our Collectors

Anangookwe

Animikiikaakwezenz

Bezhigo Binesiikwens

Nigigoonsikwe

Wachaga

Gallery Block

These are example images. Double-click here to replace these images with your own content. Learn more

program documentation

Artistic support and mentorship

Mickies Kiros

Tiana LaPointe

TJ Lor

Kristine Sorensen

LINKS TO MORE EXHIBITS & STORIES FROM THE WATERERS PROGRAM

nigaane bizindamoo-makak - Digital Archive

WATERERS - digital EXHIBIT & archive

Our Somali Community (pending)

Tias (pending)

Vetranas / Vetranos (pending)

waterers - podcast series

Digital Archive of stories, images, and teachings created by students of the Nigaane Ojibwemowin language and culture immersion program at th eBug O Nay Ge Shig School
Digital Exhibit & Archive. This link presents the many waterers (storytellers) and collectors (artistic producers) that created works for this program.
Description text goes here

Waterers EXHIBIT AND PROGRAM SUPPORT

This project is made possible through the generous support of the following partners and funders.