The Gift of the Stars: Anangoog Meegiwaewinan by Basil Johnston

It was the land, along with its plants, insects, birds, animals and fish; climate, seasons and the skies that taught our ancestors what they needed to know about the land and themselves in order to live in harmony with it.  They called the earth's teachings "aki-inoomaugaewin", the land's directions.

Laziness comes in many guises; the longing for leisure, the belief that some task is much too difficult, or that one does not measure up to it, or that it can be put off until a more convenient time; or that the insects are too bothersome, or that the work to be carried out is another person's duty.

Getting a name is not simply getting a name, it is more than that; it is receiving an identity.

Verbs: Ae-idumoowinuguk Doodumoo-kittoowinun by Basil Johnston

Iwaewin = to move

Aup or aub = permanently

Doodum = source, inspiration, purpose, object

Iziwin = life, living

Bimaudiziwin = life, existence, being; to live, to be, to exist

Gagawaedawaewin = to ask, inquire

Baushkidaewin = to burst, explode

Medawaewae = sound

Aundjigiwoowin = to get pregnant, conceive.  From (aundji = over, again, change, and neegiwoo = to give growth, life to).  To pass one's life into another, to be remade as it were; the mother lives on in her child.  She changes, and her being is changed as well.

Misquiweewiwin = to bleed, to draw blood

Maumeekiwaussitaugooziwin = to cheer, roar, to raise the voice, shout, applause

Cheebaukawaewin = to cook.  From (cheeby = a ghost, a soul of the departed, and aukawaewin = an act of).  The term originates from an old traditional custom of honouring the Dead in a feast made specially for them.  The living (who else?) cooked for them.  The term is also descriptive of the effect of cooking on the flesh.  It changes and becomes a ghost.