Maawanji’idiwag: They Come Together

This chapter provides a case study set against the backdrop of the impact of COVID-19 on language and knowledge loss among Ojibwe communities in the Midwest. It examines a unique partnership between two universities in Minnesota both committed to supporting language revitalization and their students through a virtual Ojibwe language program before, during, and “after” the COVID-19 crisis. Through qualitative interviews with students and participant observation, this chapter highlights the intergenerational trauma of language loss exacerbated by COVID-19 but also demonstrates the resiliency, connection, and strength that comes from learning ancestral languages. Student interviews highlight the importance of Indigenous faculty in colonial institutions, the Indigenously grounded spaces that are created with Indigenous language classes, and how these spaces create life support systems for Native students. The access to intergenerational knowledge through the language and virtual elder-in-residence efforts plus the ties made between students, language teachers, and culture sustained students through a period of significant upheaval. Overall, the chapter highlights the ways that Indigenous peoples continue to fight for their language and thrive in catastrophic moments through community, connection, and with traditional knowledge via language.