Episode 9: Anton
“Although trauma is real and it impacts us today; I have seen it take down many people, including in my family. At the same time that’s not the only thing that impacts us. The good things get passed forward through generations as well. I truly believe that I’ve inherited a remarkable capacity for resilience.” -Anton
“You have to take extra care because other people will not have a special value placed on your life. Especially devalue your life. It shouldn’t be like that but that’s how it is. So you don’t get to navigate the world that you think should be there—-you get to navigate the world that is there. That is hard. If you try to fight the unfairness in every second you will be exhausted. You may lose battles that could cost you your life. That is the reality.” -Anton regarding racial profiling
Anton Treuer (pronounced troy-er) is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of 19 books.
His equity, education, and cultural work has put him on a path of service around the region, the nation, and the world.
Anton has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is Editor of the Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language. Dr. Treuer has presented all over the U.S. and Canada and in several foreign countries on Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, Cultural Competence & Equity, Strategies for Addressing the "Achievement" Gap, and Tribal Sovereignty, History, Language, and Culture. He has sat on many organizational boards and has received more than 40 prestigious awards and fellowships, including ones from the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bush Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. His published works include Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, The Language Warrior's Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds, Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe (Winner of Caroline Bancroft History Prize and the American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit), Ojibwe in Minnesota ("Minnesota's Best Read for 2010" by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), The Assassination of Hole in the Day (Award of Merit Winner from the American Association for State and Local History), Atlas of Indian Nations, The Indian Wars: Battles, Bloodshed, and the Fight for Freedom on the American Frontier, and Awesiinyensag ("Minnesota's Best Read for 2011" by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress). Treuer is on the governing board for the Minnesota State Historical Society. In 2018, he was named Guardian of Culture and Lifeways and recipient of the Pathfinder Award by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.
Anton’s most recent book, THE LANGUAGE WARRIOR’S MANIFESTO.
“Language can disrupt the glue for colonial thinking which has been fundamentally dehumanizing to indigenous people.”
—Anton Treuer
Anton is seen here, 5 people in from the left in the back row, developing Ojibwe language books with first speakers from Mille Lacs in Hinckley in 2019
Anton and his son jigging wild rice.
One of Anton’s most well-known publications, EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT INDIANS BUT WERE TOO AFRAID TO ASK.
Check out the American Indian Resource Center’s page at Bemidji State here.
“Fairness is not given, it is made.” - Dr. Anton Treuer
“Native Americans are more than 10,000 years of astonishing human history still in the making.” - Dr. Anton Treuer
“Truth and reconciliation begins with truth.” - Dr. Anton Treuer
Anton at a book signing in Red Lake, MN
Anton preparing for ceremonies with Dora, Monique, and Babette, 2017
See the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary here.
THE ASSASSINATION OF HOLE IN THE DAY is being turned into a movie.
Buy the book here.
Anton Treuer
email: assistant@antontreuer.com
office phone: (218) 368-2805
Find a local support group near you for substance abuse at Alcoholics Anonymous. We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
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