Boozhoo aaniin! Anna Lee Groehler indizhnikaaz. Miskwaagamiiwi-zaaga'iganing, WI indoonjibaa. Niin gii-mashkawiziid a'aw Obushkudayang First Nation. Gaawiin indoodemsinoon.
Hello! My name is Anna Lee Groehler. I am from Turtle Lake, WI. I am a descendant of Lake St. Martin First Nation. I do not know my clan.
What better way to reconnect than through art? I have spent the last decade trying to reconnect to my maternal family. One sister, auntie, uncle, or cousin at a time. My mother is a survivor. As one of the children stolen from their homes in the 1960s, she has never really recovered. Her story is just one of so many children. She decided that my sisters and I would have the best lives without her there. The older we get, the more we understand her decisions. She is resilient. She is just trying to survive with what she has left. Even without her by our sides, she is for sure living wonderfully within our hearts.
With that being said, my passion for learning where we came from and the urge to speak our language burns brightly within my soul. My time away from my business is spent learning Anishinaabemowin and passing what I know to my two descendants. We may never be fluent speakers, but we are planting seeds for the future generations to come.
Here's to a lifetime of reconnecting.. It has been so life-changing and eye-opening.