Kenny Neganigwane Pheasant
| Listen to Kenny's Bio in Anishinaabemowin |
I was raised in South Bay on the Wikwemikong Reservation by my parents Jerome and Thecla Pheasant. I went to school on the reservation for eight years and moved away to high school when I was fourteen years old. I moved to Michigan in 1979 and now make a living as a language instructor. I started teaching at a college in Traverse City Mi. 1988 and now I am a full time language instructor for the Little River Band in Manistee Mi. I not only teach language classes for the Little River Band but I also teach an Anishinaabe Cultural Awareness Study at an Elementary school in Manistee. I have published books and audiotapes in my language and also videotapes of legends. I also produced a language program on Macintosh Hyper Card program. I helped produce an interactive CD Rom language program with the Grand Rapids museum. I am a co-publisher of a guide for teachers on Great Lakes Native Cultures. I have been in one movie called the Legend of the Sleeping Bear. We have produced a toll free language hotline and in the process of putting a language program on a website. The address is www.anishinaabemdaa.com. We are producing videotapes, which we hopefully will air on the public access TV stations around the Great Lakes area. We have produced a CD ROM that can be used on computers to learn our language. We host a language / culture camp every year in Manistee Mi. Many have attended this camp through out the years from all over US and Canada. There is no charge and meals are provided. We encourage people to come together and enjoy their language. I was just awarded a Native American Excellence Award from a partnership of SBC Ameritech and CMU Public television for Arts and Culture and a special tribute award from the state of Michigan also an outstanding service award from the Manistee Area Public Schools.
