Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Ojibway (Ojibwe)

TOTAL SPEAKERS

USAGE BY COUNTRY (OFFICIAL LANGUAGE)

Home Speakers: Canada, USA

BACKGROUND

There are approximately 8000 speakers out of a population of 25,000 in the USA. In Canada there are approximately 30,000 Ojibway mother tongue speakers - situated around Lake Huron and southeastern Ontario. It belongs to the Algic, Algonquian family. Dialects include Chippewa, and Ottowa (Odawa). The language is dying out in many areas, but is still spoken by most adults and some youth in the large population on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. There is a concerted effort to reverse the decline by teaching Ojibwe in the public schools. Probably all speakers are bilingual in English and some other Ojibway variety.