Proddy Goodchild



Proddy Goodchild (Present-day Speaker of Biigtigong Nishnaabemwin)



Proddy Goodchild is a first-speaker of Nishnaabemwin and a very proud member of Biigtigong. Proddy is constantly seeking out ways to contribute to increasing the quality of life of our community. He gives generously of his time and is constantly present in affairs of the community. Proddy goes out of his way to participate in community events and never sits idle. He makes the happenings in the community one of his priorities, engaging at nearly every level of Biigtigong life.

Proddy is an independent man who balances an embracing of his personal rights and responsibilities with a genuine and active concern for the collective well-being of our community. He takes active responsibility for being a member of Biigtigong.

Proddy asserts his deep beliefs in our title to our traditional territory. In the spirit of our aadsookaanan, he shares knowledge of our land history and advocates for our rights to our land. He also speaks frequently of our responsibility to the land and of the teachings of our ancestors. Proddy teaches us that the land gives us laws and order; the land teaches us how we are to live. He reminds us of the importance of viewing the world from a holistic perspective and keeping aware that everything is connected.

Proddy understands the significance of spirit to Nishnaabe life. In assisting our community in re-establishing our connections to self, to our ancestors, to our land, and to our traditional Nishnaabe practices and beliefs, he teaches us the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with our elders, with our spirit, with our language, with our homelands, and with each other. Proddy plays an important role in the revitalization of the spiritual practices of Biigtigong.

Proddy proudly speaks our Nishnaabe language throughout the community. He frequently promotes the need for our families to bring our Nishnaabe language back into our homes. He stresses the importance of speaking Nishnaabemwin to our children and emphasises the importance of our language to our lives as Nishnaabeg. Proddy Goodchild lives in a way that strongly encourages each of us to reconnect to our Nishnaabe ways of living and to our Nishnaabe ways of seeing the world.