A local Ojibwe language teacher recently had the opportunity to help bring his language to the big screen.
Jeff Monague, a former chief of Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island, lent his voice to the Anishinaabemowin version of the animated Stars Wars: A New Hope, which premiers in Winnipeg on Aug. 8, with a limited release in Winnipeg and other markets beginning Aug. 10.
This spring, Monague was part of a multigenerational cast who collaborated on the project remotely and in Winnipeg, following a call put out to First Nations Ojibwe speakers to come together for the project.
After auditioning for four roles, Monague was selected to play antagonist Grand Moff Tarkin, an opportunity he said he jumped on because he saw the film’s potential to help promote the Ojibwe language.
“I was interested because I am a language teacher. I teach my language, and I think this would be a good way to move that language into the future,” Monague said. “Star Wars was a perfect vehicle because we understand what's being talked about is Star Wars, in the sense that we also talk about ‘the force’ in our language and how we're connected to everything.”
With a lack of fluent Ojibwe speakers, Monague said projects like this can help preserve and build the language up in First Nations communities.
“That's what you want to do. We want to stop thinking about things in terms of a deficit and start moving forward to build up the language again within our communities, and that's entirely possible,” he said. “Just being a part of this, it’s got the right title, A New Hope, because that’s what we’re doing – we’re providing that new hope for new language speakers.”
Monague said he worked on the project both at home and out in Winnipeg, with the Ojibwe dub of the film arriving through a partnership between the University of Manitoba, Disney/Lucas Film, the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council, and APTN.
While filming, he had to grow accustomed to a different dialect of Ojibwe, with most cast members coming from the Winnipeg area.
“Most of the people that are in this film are from Winnipeg, so they have a different dialect from the one that I speak here in this part of Ontario,” he said. “I had to learn that dialect, and that was part of the challenge for me … but I think I did quite well.”
Working with everyone to put the film together, however, was a “great experience,” Monague said.
“It was also a great experience to be able to go into the studio and work with Lucas Film’s technicians,” he said. “The people at Dakota Tribal Council were fantastic. They were really good to us as hosts, and the director did a great job.”
Monague’s role in Star Wars: A New Hope, is not the first time Monague has tried his hand at acting, with previous roles doing voice overs for cartoons, as well as acting and writing for different TV series.
The Ojibwe version of Stars Wars: A New Hope will also make its debut on Disney+ and APTN at a future date.
