Anishinaabe language team captures second in College Quiz Bowl

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At the sixth annual Anishinaabe Language College Quiz Bowl held last month at Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake, the outcome came down to the second overtime question in the championship match. The close finish was a fitting end to a highly competitive day between the teams representing Minnesota colleges and universities.

Defending their title from last year was the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, who defeated the Gaagikendaasowaad (“The Ones Who Know”) team from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) in the Division II Championship match. FDLTCC teams also finished in second place the past two years, and won two championships during the initial two years of the college competition.

After making it through all of the rounds to the Division II Championship Match, the teams representing the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College battled through the set of 10 questions, ending in a perfect 5-5 tie as each team answered all questions correctly.

With the second overtime question, the FDLTCC Gaagikendaasowaad team buzzed in first, before the entire question was completely announced, and had to come up with an answer based on partial information. The team answered incorrectly, which then turned the question over to the University of Minnesota team who subsequently answered correctly and captured top honors for the third consecutive year.

Members of the Division II runner-up team from FDLTCC include Marcus Ammesmaki of Cloquet, Vicki Reynolds of Cloquet, James Martin of Cloquet and Carrie Bell of McGregor.

The annual collegiate competition consists of two divisions. Division I is for teams with members who have had one year or less of Anishinaabe language instruction, and Division II consists of teams with students who have more than one year of language instruction.

“This is the only collegiate competition of its kind in Minnesota,” said Dan Jones, faculty at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and moderator for the event. “There is no other competition like it for college students who study Anishinaabe language. In addition to being a competitive and educational event for college students, it’s a lot of fun for everyone involved.”

The event is self-supported by the participating schools.

In addition to the runner-up team in Division II, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College sent two teams to compete in Division I. The Gichigichigaaneshiiwag (“The Chickadees”) team captured third place honors. Team members included Amber Buckanaga of McGregor, Winona CrazyThunder of McGregor and Olivia Killspotted of McGregor. The Binesiiyag (“The Thunder Birds”) team members included Joseph Sutherland of Duluth, Chad Auginash of Red Lake and Kasie Gokee of Bayfield, Wis.

The sixth annual Ojibwe Language College Quiz Bowl was a double-elimination tournament pitting four-person teams representing Minnesota colleges and universities against each other in a fast-paced and tension-filled competition. Typical questions covered Anishinaabe language definitions, pronunciation, and translation. Using touch pads and timing devices, the matches moved quickly throughout the day.

Teams competing this year represented the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, College of St. Scholastica, Bemidji State University, a combined team from Augsburg College/Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Leech Lake Tribal College, and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Some schools entered more than one team to create the starting field. All Minnesota colleges and universities are invited each year to the competition.

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