"Education was continual & perpetual in everything that we did and that way then you become a whole person, because there was education for the body... there was education for the mind and for the unseen"

In our Anishinabe-Ojibwe world view, knowledge is a gift that carries responsibilities. Ojibwe communities have long respected the role of elders to pass on knowledge to younger generations. This basic precept, in conjunction with the interrelatedness of us all is the foundation of family & education in our community. The Ojibwe people have gained knowledge through this important relationship.

Episode six of Waasa-Inaabidaa - We Look In All Directions examines the connection between traditional family structures and knowledge from the clan system through the four phases of life: child, adult, middle-age, & elder. For the Ojibwe, learning is a life-long activity of careful observation & respectful listening. What must be fostered is not merely skill, but understanding; not merely knowledge, but wisdom. There is a duty on the part of the wise to impart their wisdom & a concomitant obligation on the part of the unlearned to learn. This cyclical nature of education insured the survival of our people from generation to generation. This episode chronicles the painful consequences of outside forces imposing non-Ojibwe beliefs & values onto the intricate family & education systems of the Ojibwe. Firsthand accounts from elders & others tells of the harmful legacy of the missionary & government boarding school era, and describe the survival & renewal of traditional educational compoonents of Ojibwe culture. From language preservation to dynamic tribally-run schools & colleges, traditional forms of Ojibwe education are thriving once again in an atmosphere of self-determination, empowerment, & Native pride.