Don’t Bully Your Fellow Human Being
by Lee Staples Gaa-Anishinaabemod Obizaan and Melissa Boyd Baabiitawigiizhigookwe Gaa-anishinaabewibii’ang
Mii dash waa-ni-dazhindamaan a’aw abinoojiinh ezhi-gagwaadagi’igod awakaanigod awiya miinawaa miikinzomigod awiya. Ishke mii iw eni-izhiwebak aaniindi-go gekinoo’amaagozid a’aw abinoojiinh, mii iw eni-doodawind. Ishke mii-go gomaapii ezhi-debwetang enind a’aw abinoojiinh goopazomigod iniw waaji-gikinoo’amaagojin.
What I am going to talk about is the difficulty that a child goes through when he is abused, picked on and teased. This bullying type of behavior is happening to children in most schools. What happens is that the child eventually believes what he is told by his schoolmates, that he is inferior.
Ishke mii iw ezhiwebak inigaachigaazod a’aw abinoojiinh imaa endaad. Maagizhaa gaye inow ogitiziiman maagizhaa gaye netaawigi’igojin inigaamigod miinawaa ini-aanawenimind imaa endazhi-ganawenimind. Mii-ko enind, “Aaniin ezhiwebiziyan?, Mii-go apane wanichigeyan. Daga aabaakawizin. Gaawiin gegoo gidinaabidizisiin. Mii-go apane ezhi-zhazhiibitaman., Geget gimaji-gwiiwizensiw/ikwezensiw.”
This is also what happens when a child is verbally abused in the household that he is raised in. It can be his biological or foster parents that tell him that he is inferior. The child usually hears things like, “What is the matter with you?, Why can’t you do anything right and always seem to mess up?, Straighten up!, You’re useless!, You never listen., You’re a bad boy/bad girl!”
Ishke dash a’aw abinoojiinh oniigaaniiming mii-go ezhi-debwetang mii iw gaa-pi-noondang. Mii dash i’iw izhi- goopadenindizod. Mii dash dibishkoo imaa baataashing, mii-go gaawiin gegoo ogashkitoosiin wii-ni-izhichiged. Mii iw enendang, “Gaawiin ninde-nibwaakaasiin da- giizhiikamaan i’iw endazhiikamaan.”
The child, in his future, goes on to believe what he has heard about himself. As a result, he has low self-worth. This becomes a barrier and prevents him from succeeding in whatever he is doing. The child believes “I am not smart enough to complete what I am doing.”
Mii-go gaye imaa da-gozigwaninig ge-ayaamagadinig odinendamowining ge-wasidaawishkaagod. Ishke ingiw abinoojiinyag iko eni-izhichigewaad imaa baa- odaminowaad miinawaa minawaanigoziwaad, gaawiin wiin a’aw abinoojiinh gaa-inigaa’ind izhichigesiin i’iw keyaa.
The child as a result goes on to suffer from depression that makes his life difficult. Normally what children do, they enjoy playing and are happy as they do so. For those children who have been abused, they do not play and enjoy life as others their age.
Mii-go gaye oniigaaniiming i’iw ge-ni-bitaakoshkang, gaawiin wawiingezisiin awegodogwen igo eni-dazhiikang. Baanimaa gashkitood da-zaagamoomagadinig inigaayenindizod, mii iw bijiinag da-mino-ayaad. Maagizhaa odaa-ni-waabamaan awiya ge-babizindaagojin awegonen i’iw gegwaadagi’igod.
The result of this abuse prevents a person from being efficient in whatever they are working on. That person will not be healed until those feelings of low self-worth are released. They could possibly talk with a counselor or therapist as a way to release that negative view of themselves.
Mii-ko a’aw Anishinaabe gaa-izhi-wiindamawind da- izhichiged iwidi bagwaj gidaa-izhaa da-nasanaamoyan. Gidaa-noondaagoog dash ingiw Manidoog eyaajig imaa bagwaj. Mii dash o’ow gomaapii da-moonendang gii- kiiwanimotawind, gaawiin geget goopadizisiin.
What Anishinaabe was told to do was to go out into the woods and release those emotions. They were told that the Manidoog out there in the woods would hear them and help them. Eventually the person would realize that he had been lied to all of these years and he is not inferior like he was told.
Geget igo maazhichige a’aw bemaadizid ini- wiindamawaad awiya goopadenimaad. Ishke mii iw ge-izhi-debwetangiban iniw ayaanawenimigojin. Mii- go ge-izhi-nisidizopan a’aw enigaamind. Geget gidaa- wenda-gagwaansigendam gikendaman gii-nisidozod a’aw gaa-wenda-inigaamad.
It is harmful for someone to cut down another person and tell them that they are inferior. That person that is being verbally abused would believe what he is being told. They could even commit suicide being convinced that they are no good. You would really feel bad if you realized that someone you had teased went on to commit suicide.
Ishke ayaawag ingiw abinoojiinyag wenjida ingiw gwiiwizensag nechiiwenimojig bebaa-inigaa’aajig iniw waaji’aawaajin. Ishke dash a’aw akiwenziiyiban gaa-nitaawigi’id ingii-wiindamaag, gaawiin ginwenzh ini-bimaadizisiiwag ingiw nechiiwenimojig. Niizh inow gwiiwizensan ogii-tazhimaan gaa-izhi-bimaadizinijin i’iw akeyaa. Ishke dash gii-tebwe a’aw akiwenziiyiban, gaawiin ginwenzh gii-ni-bimaadizisiiwan iniw gaa- tazhimaajin.
There are children, especially boys, who really believe they are tough and go around bullying their playmates. The old man that raised me told me, those that think they are tough do not live long. He pointed out two boys that lived their lives that way. What the old man said was true, those boys he pointed out did not live long.
Ishke gaye nebowa ayaa a’aw Anishinaabe gekinoo’amawaasijig inow oniijaanisan da- minaajitoonid gakina gegoo eyaamagak omaa akiing wenjida giwiiji-bimaadiziiminaan. Nigii-igoo gii- kwiiwizensiwiyaan, “Giishpin zhazhiibitaman i’iw keyaa ezhi-gikinoo’amaagooyan da-ni-manaajitooyan gakina gegoo; ishke ani-gichi-aya’aawiyan, mii-go gegapii gaawiin gida-minaaji’aasiin giwiiji-bimaadiziim.”
There are many Anishinaabe who do not teach their children to be respectful to everything that exists on this Earth, especially our fellow human beings. I was told when I was a little boy, “If you don’t listen to what you are being taught to respect everything; when you get older, you will go on to not have respect for your fellow human beings.”
Ishke nigii-igoo gakina awiya imaa bemaadizid odayaawaan inow Manidoon zhewenimigojin, mii eta- go wenji-ayaad omaa akiing. Ini-maazhi-doodawad awiiya, miinawaa inigaamad, mii inow Manidoon genawenimigojin eni-maji-doodawad. Mii gaye gaa-izhi- gikinoo’amaagooyaan ingiw bebakaan eni-inaadizijig bemaadizijig, gaawiin gidaa-baapi’aasiwaanaanig miinawaa gaawiin gaye gidaa-maji-inaasiwaanaanig. Ogii-inenimigowaan inow Manidoon i’iw akeyaa da-ni-izhi-bimaadiziwaad miinawaa gegoo-go omaa gigikinoo’amaagonaanig bakaan enaadizijig. Ishke ingiw niizhoowaadizijig ogii-inenimigowaan inow Manidoon o’ow akeyaa ge-ni-izhi-bimaadiziwaad. Gaawiin gidaa-baapi’aasiwaanaanig, gaawiin gaye gidaa- inigaamaasiwaanaanig. Mii-go gaye wawaaj ingiw mekadewazhejig ingiw makade-wiiyaasag, gaawiin gidaa-inigaamaasiwaanaanig gaye wiinawaa. Gidaa- wii-mikwendaamin gaa-toodaagooyang miinawaa geyaabi endoodaagooyang Anishinaabewiyang inigaa’igooyang bakaan inazheyang. Ishke dash gaawiin aazhita gidaa-doodawaasiwaanaan giwiiji- bimaadiziiminaan.
I was also told not to make fun or to hurt those that are different. We need to respect that the Manidoog put them on this Earth that way and they were put here on this Earth to teach us something. We need to respect those who are Gay or Lesbian, that it was the Manidoog who decided that they should live their lives that way. We cannot make fun of them, or put them down. The same applies to black people, we need to have respect for them also. We as Anishinaabe should remember how we were mistreated and are still mistreated to this day, because our skin color is different. We should not turn around and mistreat our fellow human beings in the same fashion.
Ishke gidaa-aangwaamitoomin da-bimiwidooyang gaa-izhi-gikinoo’amaagoowiziyang da-manaajitooyang gakina gegoo omaa akiing eyamagak. Gidaa- gikinoo’amawaanaanig giniijaanisiminaanig. Gaawiin anishaa gii-miinaasiin a’aw Anishinaabe gii- gikinoo’amawind da-manaajitood gakina gegoo.
We should continue to carry on our teachings to respect everything on this Earth. We need to teach our children the same. There is a reason we were given these teachings of respect as a people.