How to Say “Wolverine” in Ojibwe

Did you know?

• In certain ceremonial contexts, a person might intentionally change how they say the name of an animal like the wolverine to avoid attracting its attention or offending its spirit.
• Ojibwe uses a complex system of 'obviation' that can distinguish between two different wolverines in a single sentence, something English cannot do without using names or pronouns.
• Because Ojibwe is a polysynthetic language, a single word for 'wolverine' can sometimes be expanded into a much longer complex to describe a wolverine doing something specific, like 'the wolverine that is running through the brush'.