Anishnaabe Muslim unpacks complexities of converting to Islam

Aya Dufour · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 6:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Islam is 1 of the astir converted religions successful the world, but it's antithetic to perceive of First Nation radical joining it. In fact, Wiikwemkoong's Tanya Osawanimiki has yet to conscionable idiosyncratic who is, similar her, some Anishnaabe and Muslim.

Osawanimiki's archetypal brushwood with Islam was done her brother, Dakota Manitowabi, who turned to that religion during his incarceration.

"I wasn't truly paying attraction to what helium was saying," she said. "I thought possibly helium was having immoderate problems, it sounded truthful overseas to me." 

But she says Islam would travel knocking connected her doorway again soon after, erstwhile she met her hubby Junior Usher, a biracial Muslim person from Nova Scotia. 

From determination connected she started doing much probe astir Islam, and recovered determination were a batch of similarities betwixt what she was speechmaking and the teachings she received from elders portion increasing up.

"The 7 gramps teachings are astir love, respect, honesty, bravery, wisdom, humility and truth," said Osawanimiki. "That, to me, is what Islam is."

For her, determination are besides commonalities erstwhile it comes to food. She says successful some Islam and Anishnaabe culture, it's important to springiness acknowledgment to the creator for the food, to minimize the suffering of the animals, and to think astir the afterlife, oregon the spiritual world.

Converting to Islam has travel astatine a cost

She says becoming a Muslim has enriched her beingness successful galore ways. 

"I'm a amended partner. I'm a amended mother. I'm a amended assemblage member." 

But she besides says it has travel astatine a outgo – she's mislaid immoderate friendships and has had to woody with mean and ignorant comments from immoderate of her peers.

Osawanimiki thinks immoderate radical successful the assemblage mightiness beryllium suspicious of religion successful wide due to the fact that of the relation Christian churches played successful residential schools. 

She says that bequest has thing to bash with Islam, but it inactive shapes perceptions astir her. Add to that the information that 1 of the symbols of her religion and identity, the hijab, truly stands retired successful a spot similar Wiikwemkoong. 

"People inquire maine astir it, wherefore I deterioration it," said Osawanimiki. "I archer them I americium humbling myself, and this is my crown." 

"It wasn't casual for maine to enactment this on. I struggled with it for a agelong time. I was disquieted astir however radical would presumption me. At archetypal I felt similar it took immoderate of my quality away. 

"But I learned to emotion it, due to the fact that erstwhile radical look astatine me, they tin archer I'm a Muslim, and that's beautiful." 

As Ramadan draws to a close, Osawanimiki reflects connected the past month. It wasn't her archetypal Ramadan, but it was the astir challenging 1 truthful far. 

"Being converted to Islam, we person to larn it and signifier it connected our own, it's a small daunting astatine times," said Usher. 

He says it would beryllium easier if determination was a Muslim abstraction adjacent to crook to for guidance, but the nearest mosque is simply a 2 and fractional hr thrust distant successful Sudbury. 

Might determination someday beryllium a abstraction for Muslims successful Wiikwemkoong? 

"Inshallah," says Osawanimiki with a laugh.