Boozhoo gakina! My name is Niigaanibinesiikwe and I'm from right here in LCO. I knew from a young age that I wanted to pursue Ojibwemowin when I heard elders and my soon-to-be teachers converse in the language, only to wonder what it was like to understand. I have joined the LCOOU team coming from six years of immersion classroom/teaching experience from Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute and several years of close mentorship with seasoned language pioneers and teachers. I look forward to working alongside Dr. Chi-Migiz and contributing to adult language learning and community language restoration.

Some of my earliest memories of LCOOU are listening to my wen'enh Jerry Smith speak Ojibwe during a kid's summer program, being a part of the NSTI program as a middle schooler, and calling the front desk asking for my mom all the time when she worked here :) Who knew I would have the opportunity to be a part of the University down the road both as a student and a staff member! What an amazing opportunity to have language be so accessible in our own backyard at places like LCOOU and Waadookodaading. Let's learn from each other, with each other, and for each other! Ambe, bi-ojibwemotawishin waabamiyan!

I love to cook, sew, dance and travel to pow-wows, hunt and fish, and rice.

Ojibwemowin I, Ojibwemowin II, Ojibwemowin III, Ojibwemowin IV

National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Emerging Language Leaders Fellow

Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (MIIN) Weshki-ganawenjigaazojig Fellow

National Native American Language Resource Center (N-NALRC) Youth Leadership Cohort member