A Word -- Inawemaagan

by Gregory Hermann

A WORD

An Ojibwe perspective

INAWEMAAGAN

A relative, a kinsman

A traditional Ojibwe greeting would be something like this:

Boozhoo nindawemaagenidoog.

Hello all of my relatives.

This greeting is very expansive. I am greeting you who many be sitting with me; those ancestors who have made our presence and existence possible, those beings who sustain our physical health, those who have guided and mentored us to our present place, and those who will come after us. This is our acknowledgement of our oneness with all of creation.

It is easy to take the depth of the greeting for granted.

Boozhoo nindawemaagenidoog.

Gizhewaadizii