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Miles Morrisseau
ICT
In a galaxy far, far away, they will soon be speaking Ojibwe.
Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and C3PO will be speaking Anishinaabemowin in an upcoming translation and dub of the original 1977 sci-fi classic, “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and the University of Manitoba in Canada have an alliance with Disney/Lucasfilm to create an official Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) version of the iconic film that started the series.
And yes, it will include another famous line from the film.
Gi-ga-miinigoowiz Mamaandaawiziwin. (May the Force be with you.)
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The project drew high praise among Indigenous leaders and language experts.
“This is an exciting project that seeks to restore the Anishinaabe language to the galaxy,” Maeengan Linklater, project leader of the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council, said in a statement.
“And DOTC gets to say it did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs,” Linklater added, a reference to Solo’s famous brag about the speed of his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon.
This is not the first time that Disney/Lucasfilm has worked with Indigenous communities on official translations and dubs of the film. In 2013, a Navajo version of “Star Wars: A New Hope” was released and played in theaters throughout the Navajo Nation. That version is currently available on Disney plus.
“Working on the Navajo version of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ was a highlight of my career,” said Michael Kohn, Lucasfilm senior manager of distribution operations. “I am very excited to revisit this type of project again, and hopefully preserve and expand the Ojibwe language for future generations.”
Script translation, auditions for Anishinaabemowin voice actors and sound recording will take place in Winnipeg this year, with sound mixing and post-production scheduled to occur at Skywalker Sound in California.
Plans call for a Winnipeg premiere and showings at theaters across Canada, as well as airing the film on the Aboriginal Peoples Television network, or APTN.Further details and timelines will be announced as the project progresses.
The project is supported in part by the Government of Canada through the Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program from Canadian Heritage. Additional support will be provided by Disney/Lucasfilm and APTN.
“Like the Force, our language surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds our communities and culture together,” said Cary Miller, associate vice president for Indigenous scholarship, research and curriculum at the University of Manitoba. “Projects like this that make our language more accessible, and are foundationally important to encouraging our youth to carry on our knowledge — including that of science and technology — which are embedded in our Anishinaabe language.”
Summer Bressette, an Anishinaabe educator, storyteller and lifelong Star Wars fan, sees the potential for using the film in classrooms, through online teaching and in her own life.
“I fell in love with Star Wars, like my cousins all did, as children,” Bressette told ICT. “And there was something that spoke to us. We didn’t grow up in a church household, but we grew up in a Star Wars household. I think that there was something that we understood, you know, as little Anishinaabe kids playing and acting out our favorite parts from Star Wars, that we understood about the spiritual connection that they were talking about with the Force.”
Bressette currently teaches a communications course as part of a language immersion project at the Chippewa of the Thames.
“I see myself as an educator, using the ‘Star Wars’ translation,” she said. “My students who have been in my classes know how much I love ‘Star Wars,’” said Bressette. “I would definitely use that in my classroom. And I would even use it in my personal life to improve my language learning.”
As a self-proclaimed “‘Indiginerd” who has seen the film more times than she can count, Bressette is looking forward to seeing her favorite film with a new set of ears and eyes.
“What I’ve come to appreciate about language learning in my life, is that it changes the way that you view the world,” she said. “When you start to, what I call ‘put on my Anishinaabemowin glasses,’ you see the world through that language. And I feel like translating the ‘Star Wars’ movie, for Anishinaabe people, and for Anishinaabemowin speakers and learners, it will give us a window into the world or into the ‘Star Wars’ universe through the lens of our own language.”
Dominic Beaudry, associate vice president in the Office of Academic and Indigenous Programs at Laurentian University, believes that the film will inspire new hope in language learners.
“It will give the students another opportunity to really want to reclaim their language and to revitalize their language because it becomes more meaningful when you see it in pop culture, when you see it in the media,” Beaudry told ICT. “Everything to do with equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenous is always a step forward.”
“What a wonderful opportunity to be able to bring that language together with a pop-culture icon. ‘Star Wars’ always seems to be of interest – doesn’t matter which generation, first generation, second, third or fourth, there seem to be many generations of ‘Star Wars’ viewers,” Beaudry said. “I believe it’s a great opportunity for folks to get to hear the Ojibwe language on the big screen.”
Laurentian University is based in Sudbury, Ontario and it is a part of the country far away from where the movie will be dubbed, but Beaudry has no doubt it will translate.
“In my region, there is still a lot of Anishinaabemowin spoken here,” he said. “So given an opportunity to view a movie that most folks grew up with, ‘Star Wars,’ – here’s an opportunity to watch the film in Anishinaabe. It’s going to be absolutely amazing, not just to myself, but also to the elders.”
Beaudry would like to see the ever-expanding “Star Wars” universe include an Indigenous character.
“I think in the future would be great for them to create an Indigenous character or Anishinaabe character for an upcoming ‘Star Wars’ feature,” Beaudry said. “It would be ideal for that person to share a little bit of their Ojibwe language. That would be absolutely amazing.”
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