BEMIDJI -- The new children’s TV show airing on Lakeland PBS on Saturday has all the hallmarks of a typical kids’ program.

Youngsters count to 20, practice saying animal names and recite nursery rhymes in the 26-minute pilot episode. But one thing sets the new show apart from PBS’ typical productions: much of the episode is in Ojibwe.

The show, called “Ojibwemotaadidaa,” is the brainchild of Lakeland producer Tom Wild, and is meant to highlight Anishinaabe language and culture. The pilot episode of the program aired for the first time June 24 and will show for the last time Saturday. Viewers can also watch it on YouTube, or on Lakeland’s website.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking, kicking around for a while and just kind of bringing up in department meetings, that kind of thing,” Wild said. “I think lots of people have had the idea, it’s just like, I was able to have the technical skills, so I was able to connect with the right people.”

To create the pilot, Wild and fellow producers John Andringa and Andrew Dziengel enlisted the help from a bevy of Ojibwe-language teachers and experts, along with children from Waasabiik Ojibwemotaadiwin Immersion School.

The episode features Waasabiik students exploring sugar bush while speaking Ojibwe, as well as a tour of Native artist Jonathan Thunder’s Duluth studio. Thunder, from Red Lake, created an animation of the traditional story “Why Bear Has a Short Tail.” Nathaniel Taylor, who works at Waasabiik, consulted on the episode after Wild approached him with the idea.

Taylor, who has degrees in American Indian studies and tribal administration and governance, thinks it’s important for Ojibwe children to know their roots and participate in their culture.

Shows like Ojibwemotaadidaa can help accomplish that, he said.

“If you want to learn French, you can go to France; if you want to learn German you can go to Germany, but where do you go if you want to learn the Anishinaabe language?” Taylor said. “After we started our immersion school, it came to the realization that there is hardly, if any, resources, so I like Tom (Wild)’s idea because he gives us something to put out on a grander level.”

Wild also asked for the input of Cass Lake teacher Nicole Hanson and Monique Paulson with Leech Lake Head Start. Author Rick Gresczyk allowed the show to use his translation of a kids’ song sung by a class of children.

“A lot of it was just building relationships,” Wild said. “It was just finding people who are already doing things and highlighting them.”

Though creating the pilot episode took about a year, Wild thinks any future episodes would come together quickly, thanks to the relationships formed through the earlier work. He hopes to create 13 more episodes.

Wild, too, wants Ojibwe children to see their culture portrayed in a positive light.

“I think it’s empowering for young people to see representations of themselves in a healthy way on television, and so whatever that looks like in your community, I think it’s important to show that on screen,” he said. “Also I think all cultures are interested in learning about other cultures, but when you do that...the results can be profound.”