This study of materials in an Indigenous language reclamation context examines the intra-actions among Ojibwe First Speakers, immersion school youth, and land. We apply Indigenous perspectives (Simpson, 2014) and sociomateriality (Fenwick, 2015) to point-of-view videorecordings of bilingual walks in the woods to elucidate the complex relationships between land and language.
In recent years, research on the use of materials in language teaching and learning has expanded, examining a wider range of material phenomena (Matsumoto, 2019; Toohey et al., 2015) and applying methodologies that allow for more relational (Guerrettaz & Johnston, 2013) and emergent conceptions of materials use (Canagarajah, 2018). This shifting attention to diverse conceptualizations of materials, language contexts, and theoretical approaches demonstrates the generative potential for understanding language teaching and learning through a focus on materiality. This study contributes to the increasingly diverse body of scholarship on language learning materials by examining their use in an under-represented context—Indigenous language reclamation in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. Specifically, we examine the intra-actions (Barad, 2007; Fenwick, 2015) among land-based materials, Ojibwe First Speakers (those who learned Ojibwe at home from caregivers), and immersion school youth as they explore the nearby woods. We draw on Indigenous perspectives (Rosiek et al., 2019; Simpson, 2014) and sociomateriality (Fenwick, 2015) in this ethnomethodological study that takes up questions of Ojibwe learner language at this unique moment in time when First Speakers of Ojibwe and bilingual youth can interact. We ask: How is expertise distributed in sociomaterial intra-action on and with land? How does a land-centered paradigm shape Ojibwe language use Data come from multimodal recordings of Elder-youth pairs and small groups wearing point-of-view cameras as they walk together in the woods. Through careful analysis of human and material intra-actions, this study expands and clarifies the roles of land in Indigenous language learning for reclamation. This project has implications for materials use research as it highlights the significance of the natural world as emergent language learning and teaching materials. Moreover, it builds on our understandings of Indigenous language reclamation efforts more broadly, through sociomaterial engagements “in the wild”.
