In honour of the national day of truth and reconciliation, we’d like to highlight the role we can all play in discovering truths and moving forward in a good way. The image pictured above is a work-in-progress diagram of bike parts and terms submitted by Winnipeg Trails, one of our member organizations. Their staff have been working on a lexicon of bicycle related terms in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) – the evocative and widely spoken language of the Anishinaabe people that can be heard from Ottawa to Edmonton.
Their crew includes five talented young Indigenous people who are getting paid to learn and reclaim their language, with the goal of seeing it embedded it in the landscape via meaningful public projects like the installation of signage along places like the Trans Canada Trail in Winnipeg, a new app, as well as a philosophical rethink of sustainable transportation viewed from an Indigenous lens.
If you are familiar with Ojibwe, or if you see any terms here that sound familiar or know of people who may know more bike-related terms, you can reach out to them at [email protected] to see their growing list. They’d love to hear from you.
What is “bicycle” near you?
