Brain-Box
Digital Archives Project
wiinindibmakakoons
"Wiinindib" means knowledge
"makak(oons)" is a (small) container or box...

Wiinindibmakakoons - (Little box of knowledge, or Little Brain-Box) is the Ojibwe word that the elders group at Lac Courte Oreilles gave the Laptop computer, during field production work and review in 1994.



"America has great libraries but poor memories and the Chippewa are the opposite. I can't find a paper in my desk, can't find a library when I need one, but I can always find someone who can remember the stories. And I always know that the stories are true."
Walter Bresette - Red Cliff band of Lake Superior Chippewa

The Brain-Box Digital Archives Project began in 1992, with an idea to build a storied archive using new media tools, to gather and present oral histories from land-based peoples, beginning with the Anishinaabe Nation in the Great Lakes.

Maawanji'iding - Gathering Together
Ojibwe Histories and Narratives from Wisconsin

is volume one of Brain Box Digital Archives Project . Maawanji'iding is a CD-ROM for Mac and PC, containing hours of stories and hundreds of images and archival documents related to the history and culture of the Ojibwe communities in the ceded territories of northern Wisconsin and the Great lakes. Maawanji'iding is the result of six years of collaborative work between hup!multimedia and tribal members of the Wisconsin bands of Lake Superior Chippewa or Ojibwe, part of the larger Anishinaabe Nation in the U.S. and Canada.

Maawanji'iding Includes:
- Hours of oral teachings and information shared by Ojibwe orators and educators
- Historic and contemporary photos of Ojibwe landscapes and community life
- A rich collection of related maps, original documents, and text selections
- Ojibwe stories about treaty rights and sovereignty, land, language, families, ceremony
- Descriptions and stories of seasonal activities in the Great Lakes
- A timeline linking Ojibwe history to local, North American, and global events
- Excellent links to related resources for further exploration, both on and off-line

Reviewers Write:

"This is the best educational multimedia product that has come across my desk in the last 10 years!" Jim Klein - Instructional Technology Consultant, Board Member Wisconsin Educational Media Association

"A powerful and welcome resource for classrooms and libraries that actually allows history to speak to us." Bobbie Malone - Director of Educational Services State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison

"Maawanji'iding is the best educational resource available for teachers interested in helping students celebrate cultural diversity..." Frank Koehn - teacher Port Wing, WI

 

 


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hup! multimedia is the funder and publisher of the Brain-Box Digital Archives Project and has established a working group dedicated to a collaborative design and editorial production process. Our long term goal is to enable and support local initiatives in developing new media projects.
For more information contact:
info@Brain-Box.com.