Gijigijigaaneshiinh (Chickadee). Written and sung by Margaret Noodin.

Here is a song written about chickadees who never leave and the importance of becoming the spirit you want to see in the world. It’s short and based on their actual calls – the one that identifies them and the ones they use to call to each other. It’s also inspired in part by Linda LeGarde Grover’s novel, The Road Back to Sweetgrass.

This poem is from the book, Gijigijigaaneshiinh Gikendaan (What the Chickadee Knows). The book is a collection of poems in Anishinaabemowin and English by Margaret Noodin. It can be purchased from Wayne State University Press.

Gijigijigaaneshiinh

Aanikoobijiganag aanikoobidoowaad
The ancestors tied and extended it
wiingashk wiindamawiyangidwa
the sweetgrass, telling us
gashkibijigeg gegashk-akiing
make bundles, the world is not yet ripe.

Gijigijigaaneshiinh ayaa gawaandag
The marsh chickadee is there in the white pine
noondaagozid noondenimiyangidwa
calling out and flirting with us
manidookeyaang manidoowiyaang
it’s a ceremony, a way to be alive.