Motorola and Lenovo Foundation Launch App to Preserve Ojibwe Language
In partnership with the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community, Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation have introduced the 'Indigenous Collections' app, aimed at revitalizing the Ojibwe language. This initiative is part of Motorola's broader Indigenous Languages Initiative and corresponds with UNESCO's International Decade of Indigenous Languages. The app, developed with contributions from Ojibwe educator Jason Jones and professor Anton Treuer, serves as a repository of stories, traditions, and elder accounts. Currently, around 50,000 individuals speak Ojibwe, predominantly those over 70, leading UNESCO to label it as 'severely endangered.' The project also seeks to incorporate Indigenous languages into mobile interfaces, addressing concerns about the commercialization of Indigenous knowledge while striving to safeguard cultural heritage.
Key facts
- Motorola and Lenovo Foundation developed the app 'Indigenous Collections' with the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community.
- The app is part of Motorola's Indigenous Languages Initiative, launched to correspond with UNESCO's International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
- Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, and Ojibwe language teacher Jason Jones worked with community elders on the app.
- The app includes stories, traditions, personal accounts, oral histories, translated narratives, a family tree function, and information on culturally significant landmarks.
- About 50,000 people speak Ojibwe today, primarily in southern Canada and the northern United States.
- UNESCO lists Ojibwe as 'severely endangered' because a majority of speakers are over 70.
- In 2022, Motorola collaborated with Cherokee leaders to incorporate the Cherokee language into a smartphone line.
- Benjamin Frey, a language scholar at the University of North Carolina and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, contributed to the Cherokee project.
Entities
Artists
- Anton Treuer
- Jason Jones
- Benjamin Frey
Institutions
- Motorola
- Lenovo Foundation
- Rainy Lake Ojibwe community
- Bemidji State University
- UNESCO
- University of North Carolina
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
- Ojibwe People's Dictionary
Locations
- Minnesota
- United States
- Canada