Viewers or listeners will be able to hear the Nov. 28 game against Colorado – taking place on the team’s Native American Heritage Day – in the Ojibwe language.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild will make history this Friday when the hockey club teams with FanDuel Sports Network to broadcast the first NHL game ever in Ojibwe.
A team of respected Ojibwe language speakers – Gordon “Maajiigoneyaash” Jourdain, Ph.D.; Chato “Ombishkebines” Gonzalez; and James “Ginoonde” Buckholtz – will bring listeners the action in the native tongue of the seven tribal nations spread across Minnesota. The broadcast is part of the Wild’s Native American Heritage Day, highlighted by a tilt between Minnesota and Colorado at 2:30 p.m.
The Ojibwe language option can be accessed on FanDuel’s app or website. Listeners must have a FanDuel subscription to access the broadcast.
“This milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to celebrating the Indigenous communities who have long been part of Minnesota’s cultural fabric,” said Wild CEO Matt Majka. “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.”
The historic broadcast is being produced by FanDuel in partnership with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (MIIN), and Grand Casino.
“MIIN is honored to be a part of this incredible opportunity,” said Dustin “Gimiwan” Burnette, President of MIIN. “We applaud the Minnesota Wild for highlighting the value of our shared communities, our languages, and bimaakoweba’igewin (hockey)! This and future events will set a new standard of expectations toward normalizing our language, Ojibwemowin, in all spaces we share.”