Star Wars film in Ojibwe language holds world premiere in Winnipeg

A project years in the making in a galaxy far, far away marked a major milestone Thursday night.

Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council, Disney, Lucasfilm, APTN and the University of Manitoba held the premiere of the Ojibwe language version of "Star Wars: A New Hope."

The movie is the same science fiction classic that has entertained audiences for generations, but all of the dialogue has been translated into Ojibwe.

For actors involved in the film, exposing people to their language on the big screen is something important for them.

"I hope it gives a lot of people an opportunity to hear the Ojibwe language for the first time in a lot of spaces where they never get to you," said Ajuawak Kapashesit, who voiced Han Solo in the film.

"We have immersion schools, we have different opportunities like that, which is great, and we need more and more of those, but we need to expand the use of domains for the language. We need people to have different opportunities to hear the language, beyond just the classroom, or beyond ceremony. So, a film like this gives an opportunity for people to have it in their home for some time."

Theresa Eischen, who voices Princess Leia, is from Little Grand Rapids First Nation in Manitoba. To prepare for the role, she recorded Carrie Fisher's lines from the film, got the cadence down in English, and then tried to replicate it in Ojibwe.

She said she wants to inspire people in her community to keep learning their language.

"It's a good feeling when you know your worldview, your indigenous Ojibwe worldview, and your oral histories connected to your own communities," she said.

The film will have a limited release for the public in Winnipeg and other cities.