On Friday, Nov. 28, the Minnesota Wild hosted the Colorado Avalanche at 2:30 p.m. CST for a landmark occasion: the first National Hockey League game ever broadcast entirely in the Ojibwe language.
The special broadcast — part of the Wild’s celebration of Native American Heritage Day — was offered via FanDuel Sports Network and made possible in partnership with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Grand Casino and the Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (MIIN), a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin) language.
Veteran speakers Gordon “Maajiigoneyaash” Jourdain (Lac La Croix First Nation), Chato “Ombishkebines” Gonzalez (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), and 17-year-old rising commentator James “Ginoonde” Buckholtz (Lac du Flambeau Tribe) handled the call, breathing new life into the game’s play-by-play with Ojibwemowin phrases and cultural resonance.
“This milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to celebrating the Indigenous communities who have long been part of Minnesota’s cultural fabric,” Matt Majka, Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Wild, said in a press release. “We’re proud to help expand access to the game we all love and to support the preservation and vitality of the Ojibwe language for generations to come.”
On Wednesday, Gonzalez was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio’s Cathy Wurzer for Morning Edition.
“I’ve been working with our elders to revitalize the language for about 20 years now, and it’s exciting to see Ojibwe moving into different domains,” Gonzalez said. “This isn’t really a new domain, since especially in Canada, where there are a lot of Ojibwe people as well, hockey is very popular. So coming up with the words and stuff, we really don’t have to do that, because the guy that we’re working with, Gordon Maajiigoneyaash Jourdain — he played hockey growing up, and so he already has all these words, so it’s just kind of teaching it to us so that we know the special jargon that goes along with the hockey game.”
On the ice, the Wild edged out the Avalanche 3–2 in a shootout, adding a thrilling finish to a broadcast that will be remembered far beyond the final buzzer.