"When we ran into other Ojibwe in the border towns of my youth, we would point our lips at each other and say, “Boozhoo, Aaniin,” which roughly translated means, “Hi, what’s happening?” We would be happy to see another Ojibwe in that often-unfriendly territory and discreetly share our kinship. Generations of Indians recall having their knuckles rapped for speaking their native languages in non-Indian schools. Hearing these bits of our language spoken in public seemed like a secret handshake to me, a sliver of defiance towards disapproving white folks.

There were no “Welcome” signs for Indians in those border towns, nor were there many that spelled out “No Indians Allowed.” Businesses didn’t really need them. We knew where we weren’t welcome; we didn’t need signage.

Thanks to some forwarding-thinking folks in the North Country, however, those bits of defiant language are evolving into a courageous act of inclusion that has taken hold between Natives and non-Natives in the town of Bemidji, Minnesota."

Get the Story:
Mary Annette Pember: Boozhoo: Signs of Racial Reconciliation (The Daily Yonder 9/28)