This is the Basabaagise or Bounce Back song. It reminds us even when we are struggling the earth still turns, the sun and moon still hang in the sky, and sometimes the answers to big questions come from the most unlikely places. It also reminds us that in Ojibwe, stones can be animate and hold stories of our past. Some say the first storyteller was a stone.

This song was inspired from the Dakonaninjingwaan (To Fall Asleep Holding Hands) Book. This children’s book is about the gift of relationships and resilience. Readers follow Waabooz the Otter as she looks for her mother, sings a song to help her be strong (this song!) and asks for help from her woodland friends.

The book was written by Fionnan Noori, designed by Shannon Noori, translated by Margaret Noodin, and illustrated by Dolly Peltier.

Sung by Fionna Noori and Margaret Noodin

Dakonaninjingwaan Song

Asiniins, asiniins wiiji-ayaawishin
Little stone, little stone stay with me

bagwaashkwanin giizhigaateng
jump in the sunlight

bagwaashkwanin giizhigaateng
jump in the moonlight

Asiniins, asiniins waawiindamawishin
Little stone, little stone tell me

gaa-ezhi-gizhenindaagwag
how it was created

o’ow waawiyaawigamig
this world