More Indigenous Youth are Learning to Spearfish, a Connection to Ancestors and the Land

Ganebik Johnson started learning traditional Ojibwe songs when he was about 2 years old. He’d hang around listening to his uncle sing, or observe elders, or even pull up music on YouTube. Spearfishing came shortly after, at around age 7, when his grandfather took him out on a northern Wisconsin lake for the first time.

Now 13, he’s already teaching others. Johnson kept a steady beat on his drum as he joined other youth playing and singing the welcoming song at this year’s annual spearfishing event for kids put on by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. He and 40 or so other young people spread tobacco into the water along the shoreline, an offering of respect before the harvest. After the sun dipped below the horizon, Johnson began showing the kids how to hold spears and directed them to shine flashlights into the water to catch the glimmering eye shine of the fish.

He says those activities are important to him “so our tradition don’t get lost and keep carrying it on for generations to come.” And seeing other kids want to try those cultural activities, “I felt proud,” he added.

That sense of pride, which connects Indigenous people to their ancestors and to a sense of shared responsibility for the land, is why parents, family members, local leaders and community organizations are so invested in teaching the next generation of spearfishers. Families and elders now see that their efforts are paying off, with more young people getting to stay up past their bedtimes to traverse glassy lakes under the moon and stars.

read more at apnews.com.