Introduction by Dr. Anton Treuer and Anna C. Gibbs
Introducing the Papers of Rev. Sela G. Wright, 1816-1906
at the Oberlin College Archives
Dr. Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University
Anna C. Gibbs, Tribal Elder and Spiritual Leader, Red Lake Nation
From 1843 until 1862, Sela G. Wright spent most of his time in Minnesota at the Ojibwe communities around Leech Lake and Red Lake before any land there was ceded to the U.S. government and throughout the establishment of the reservations at Leech Lake and Winnibigoshish in 1855. Wright was in many ways a typical missionary. He was interested in converting the Ojibwe to Christianity and documenting elements of Ojibwe culture that would provide a natural segue for his effort. He was also wanted to advance knowledge of the Ojibwe language in order to conduct missionary work in the native tongue and accelerate the rate of conversion. Wright also studied linguistics and saw his work as a contribution to the academic discipline. Wright took care to work with the linguistic field prototypes developed by Wesley Powell and others. Even today, Wright's field notes, vocabulary lists, and grammatical sketch of the Ojibwe language stand as a major contribution to the field of linguistics. Although it was not his primary concern or intention, Wright's correspondence, field notes, and grammar work also serve as instruments of lasting value to historians of the Ojibwe and to those who continue to strive for the revitalization of Ojibwe language and culture.
Other early missionaries, explorers, and scholars of the Ojibwe people studied the tribal language. William Jones, George Copway, William Warren, Frederic Baraga, Henry Schoolcraft, and Josselin DeJong mark some of the most well known contributors to early documentation of Ojibwe. Recent scholarship by John Nichols, Earl Otchingwanigan, Charles Fiero, Rand Valentine, Anton Treuer and others has done much to expand upon and deepen the work of early missionaries and scholars. Much of the grammar work done by Sela Wright has been done by others. There is, however, a fair amount of material in these papers that can only be found in these papers, and they mark an invaluable contribution to the language. At least 15% of the words on Wright's lists is very rare, and sometime unavailable elsewhere in the published record. Fluent Ojibwe first speaker Anna Gibbs of Red Lake (where Wright worked for many years) had her own memory sparked by some of the terms for birds and parts of fish.
Words for a perforation of the septum of the nose, knuckle and finger parts, animals, types of woodpeckers and swallows, are all rare and much needed additions to the published lexicography of the Ojibwe language. These word lists can be checked by fluent speakers of the language and incorporated into the ongoing efforts of linguists and tribal members to develop new publications and materials for preservation and instruction of Ojibwe.
Wright's correspondence and historical notes are also of value. Numerous historians who are currently researching the history of missionaries in Indian country will find this work useful. Wright's brief notes on the nature of chieftainship in Ojibwe culture will add to ongoing published research by Rebecca Kugel, Cary Miller, Theresa Schenck, and Anton Treuer, all of whom overlooked Wright's important observations. The online access to these documents will make certain their inclusion in ongoing work and the awareness of scholars in the field. Wright's observations on the material culture of the Ojibwe probably adds little to existent resources, but the bandolier bag he collected is an authentic cultural artifact of interest to some, including tribal members who study and replicate ancient bead patterns.
Wright's work adds much, but could have added more. The biggest omissions to the fieldwork are notes about who Wright spoke to and where. Even at Red Lake, there are some significant dialect considerations between Ponemah and Red Lake village. There are also differences between the Leech Lake communities and the Red Lake communities in dialect. While these differences are usually minor, they are still significant. Wright gives the term omooday-zikowaagan for bladder, where Ponemah tribal elder Anna Gibbs uses onibiim. Both terms are right, but information about Wright's informants helps scholars track dialect and language change. Also, Wright did not discuss dependent nouns in his body part lists, and uses double-possessed forms, which might confuse some users of the word lists. Also, Wright appears to have spent little time thinking about orthographies. The glottal stop is not presented with a symbol, but rather an inconsistent use of roman letters. It is also unclear to what degree Wright may have been influenced by other missionary work on Ojibwe, including by some of his contemporaries, of which he must have been well aware.
The Ojibwe language today is very much alive, especially in parts of Canada where some communities have fluency rates around 100%. In the U.S., however, there are now fewer than 1,000 speakers. Wright's work has the potential to make a significant contribution to the lexicography of the Ojibwe language as it is spoken in the U.S. today. Its availability in an online format is welcomed and cheered by the descendants of his original informants.