Program Overview

Anishinaabe Studies

Overview

The Anishinaabe Studies program explores the enduring history of the Anishinaabe, the original peoples of this part of the world. Graduates will understand the relatively recent influence of colonization, consequential social issues, and significant contemporary movements in Anishinaabe society. They will further develop broad cross-cultural understanding, and experience both traditional and contemporary Anishinaabe research methodologies, as they relate to other research paradigms.

Program Description

Through a culture-based curriculum, students will learn Anishinaabe history, philosophy, and worldview, experiencing and exploring the importance of self-knowledge and the ways in which knowledge creates pathways for interpersonal and intercultural respect.

What You Can Expect

• Hands-on learning, a close-knit campus community, and caring faculty.

Courses

For more detailed information on our courses, please visit our courses schedule section.

Meet our Faculty

We have a highly credentialed and caring faculty who are committed to Algoma U’s special mission.

John-Paul Chalykoff

Assistant Professor; Chair, Department of Modern languages

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John-Paul Chalykoff (Michipicoten First Nation) is an Assistant Professor in Anishinaabe Studies at Algoma University / Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig. He previously taught Anishinaabemowin and Intro to American Indian & Indigenous Studies at Michigan State University. He also taught Anishinaabemowin for Michipicoten First Nation and Algoma District School Board. He was an elected councilor for Michipicoten First Nation’s Chief & Council for two terms. He specializes in Anishinaabemowin revitalization. He uses an interdisciplinary approach to language revitalization, combining language, music, and education. His research interests include Anishinaabemowin revitalization, Anishinaabe / Indigenous history around the Great Lakes, music, and puppetry.

Nomenclature

The nomenclature of the Bachelor of Arts in Anishinaabe Studies is intended to distinguish this program from other programs in Ontario that have a similar focus (i.e., Native, Aboriginal, and Indigenous Studies programs). The term Anishinaabe refers to “the Original Peoples of this part of the world,” meaning the peoples of Turtle Island or North America. This is consistent with Algoma University and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig practices, where Anishinaabe is the term used to refer to “Aboriginal” (First Nations, Metis and Inuit) peoples. This can be seen in the Algoma University Board of Governor’s advisory Anishinaabe People’s Council, and many student services that are available as part of the Anishinaabe Initiatives Division. Anishinaabe is not a legal definition, such as “Indian” or “Aboriginal,” and therefore does not impose boundaries around status, community, or country of origin. This is important in terms of local context, in that Sault Ste. Marie is a border community with the United States. Local Anishinaabe communities have been separated by the Canada-U.S. border only very recently, and share a deep rooted history.

The term Anishinaabe is inclusive with a broad scope, distinctly grounded in local and regional language and knowledge systems. There are many nations that comprise the greater Anishinaabe nation. Each nation is respected and recognized, for example, as Ojibwe Anishinaabe, Cree Anishinaabe, Lakota Anishinaabe, or Metis Anishinaabe. The many nations within the greater Anishinaabe nation include the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatami peoples, an alliance of significant historical and present-day meaning in the region. The focus of the Anishinaabe Studies program begins with the Original Peoples of the Great Lakes region as well as their close linguistic and cultural relatives, and the program emphasizes the use of the Anishinaabemowin language in its culture-based approach The focus then extends much further with a a comparative culture-based approach that considers the contexts of Indigenous peoples across North America.