An Evening with Kenny Pheasant

Join Dan Wanschura, host of IPR’s podcast Points North, for an intimate conversation with Kenny Pheasant about the language and stories of his people, and the efforts to preserve it for generations to come.

Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe nation, is one of the oldest Native American languages in North America, but it is in danger of becoming extinct if not passed on to a new generation. In earlier times, the language was passed on orally from a tribe’s elders to its younger members, but in more recent times, this practice has fallen away. 

Kenny Pheasant is a teacher of Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe people. He is a member of Wiikwemkoong First Nation and was raised on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, where he grew up speaking Anishinaabemowin.  

This event is sponsored by Interlochen Public Radio and the United Way of Northwest Michigan.