Hummingbird / Aamo-binashee

Cover of "Hummingbird / Aamo-binashee" by Jennifer Leason; translated by Norman Chartrand

In Hummingbird / Aamo-binashee, the ancestors send a hummingbird to a child lost in Windigo’s darkness. Its teachings of resilience, love and connection bring the child home and remind us that our ancestors are always watching and can help us find our way if we only ask. (Description from Orca Book Publishers.)

Themes: Indigenous resilience, Indigenous teachings, self-worth, residential school, oppression.

From Orca Book Publishers. To find the book, visit your local library or purchase from an Indigenous book store.

 

Dr. Jennifer Leason with her two children.
Photo Source: Author's website

About the Author and Illustrator

“My name is Dr. Jennifer Leason and my Anishinaabe name is Kessis Sagay-Yas Egett Kwé: First Shining Rays of Sunlight Woman. I am of a member of the Pine Creek Indian Band and my maternal Indigenous roots are from Duck Bay, Pine Creek and Camperville, Manitoba; and my paternal Ukrainian-Norwegian roots are from Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan.”
– from author Dr. Jennifer Leason’s website. 

About our Honored Guest

For this month’s meeting, we welcomed Jenny Van Sickle from the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC).

Discussion Questions

  1. What are some things that make you feel loved and connected to your family and friends? 
  2. What are some things that you do to care for your family and friends? 
  3. The author wrote and illustrated this book. How would you illustrate a book about grief, loneliness, resilience, and love?
A green hummingbird sits on a branch
Photo Source: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Learning Activities

  1. This book is written in both English and Anishinaabemowin. Talk about why the author decided to write a bilingual book!
  2. Write down some words you could use to describe your family and loved ones. 
  3. Make a hummingbird feeder out of a small recycled jar, twine, and sugar water. 
  4. With an adult, listen and read along with the Giiwedinong Opichi storybook.
Photo: Pslawinski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Explore More

  1. Watch a short video from The Ways by PBS about Ojibwe immersion school Waadookodaading, “a place where people help each other.” 
  2. Listen to an interview with Dr. Jennifer Leason on CBC Radio. (Interview starts at 8″.)
  3. Learn from Staci Lola Drouillard about hummingbirds in Nibi Chronicles: The Return of Nenookaasiwag. 
  4. Listen to Dr. Jennifer Leason speak about Indigenous wellness and maternal health at the Canadian Science Policy Conference. 
  5. Watch a puppet show about the teachings of the hummingbird by Nanaboozhoo.
  6. Explore GLIFWC’s Maajii-Ojibwemowag (They Begin to Speak Ojibwe) early childhood Ojibwe language learning resources.