biskaabiiyaang: creating the story

Professor Maya Chacaby is Anishinaabe, Beaver Clan from Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay). As part of her Linguistics curriculum at York University, she developed a story to help her students learn Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language).

Much of Anishinaabe ways of being, knowing, and doing in the world are based on stories, so the Professor set hers in a post-apocalyptic world invaded by vicious “linguicidals”. What was once a beautiful, imaginary world bound by the magic of language had now been wiped out. It was up to the player to save the language and the world.

better results with gamified learning

This idea formed the basis of a card-based roleplaying game where students adventured with their classmates and increased their skills through immersive, gamified group learning. Students built characters, completed quests with the Professor’s guidance, and supported each other. 

Thanks to the game, proficiency levels skyrocketed. Difficult areas of language learning—such as grammar—felt easier to grasp.

However, Professor Chacaby was eager for anyone to have access to and learn Anishinaabemowin, not just her students.

That is where the metaverse came in, providing a virtual space to house the Professor’s stories, quests, and traditional knowledge. Professor Chacaby had found a way to make her world available to all. 

UniVirtual, an innovative, virtual platform designed for learning, was the perfect fit for the project; it allows students and teachers to collaborate in a social, networked environment and results in elevated levels of retention, lowered learning anxiety, and due to the nature of metaverses, can virtualize any learning material into fun online activities. 

looking to the future

Biskaabiiyaang (sometimes spelled biskaabiiyang) is the first step in a ten-year project running in tandem with the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 – 2032). This first chapter will focus on traditional Anishinaabe stories with an aim of saving and igniting new interest in Anishinaabemowin through digitized, gamified learning. The project will rely on funding and support from individuals, businesses, and learning institutions adopting the project early or funding its development. To support Biskaabiiyaang, please visit our Support page!

The virtual world of Biskaabiiyaang will continually expand to teach the language and help second-language speakers increase their skills. Once it is complete, it will form a blueprint that is easily adaptable for any Indigenous language in danger of extinction. 

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