By Pamela Gisinaabiikwe Martin, LCOOU Student
Boozhoo! My name is Gisinaabiikwe. I am 19 years old, a mother to a one-and-a-half-year-old son, and a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Tribe. In my youth, I attended an Ojibwe Immersion school called Waadookodaading, “Helping One Another”, near Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University (LCOOU) where I am now enrolled. Waadookodaading is an Ojibwe immersion school that utilizes the gift of the Ojibwe language as a means through which students and the community can achieve the goal of Indigenous survival and tribal sovereignty. I studied there until the age of 14 when I moved from Wisconsin to Saskatchewan, Canada. There, with my father, I learned to hunt, ride horses, shoot archery, and continued going to school.
COVID-19 struck while I was in high school and I had a difficult time keeping up with on-line schooling, finishing my work, and staying motivated. During my senior year of high school, I gave birth to my son. I started thinking more and more about our future. Because I wasn’t a Canadian citizen, I decided to move to back to Lac Courte Oreilles where I had citizenship, ready to start anew and prioritize a life for my son and me.
After relocating, I enrolled in the GED program at LCOOU. I am most grateful to my instructors at the university for their motivation, flexibility, and support. I can proudly tell my son that your dreams are possible, because I graduated and attained my high school equivalency diploma and am now enrolled as an undergraduate in LCOOU’s nursing program.
Since starting the spring semester, I have been actively involved in the cultural events at LCOOU and have created an archery club for our students. I am also back at Waadookodaading, working with elementary students as a student helper through LCOOU’s internship program. I am on a pathway that honors my roots while shaping the future for my family and community.
