Voices on the Rise: Indigenous Language Revitalization in Alberta - Episode 1

[Music]

I'm fascinated with the way language

is central to our world view
as indigenous people.

I'm a Naheo artist and curator living on
Lekwungen territory in Victoria, BC.

My personal research centers
around language revitalization

and how it connects us
to our cultures and lands.

Over the past few years I've been
on a journey to learn

the Cree language.

It's been a challenging and
incredibly rewarding experience.

Now I want to travel to Alberta,
where my ancestors are from

to discover the ways that
different communities

are revitalizing their languages.

My mother and I both grew up
not knowing anything

about our Cree family because
she was adopted out at birth

as part of the '60s scoop.

Twelve years ago,
we met our Cree family,

and since then I have been

in a process of connecting
with the community

in Wabasca, Alberta,
the place where my kokum,

my grandmother Florence,
was born.

I recently met Nora Yellowmee,
an administrator

at the local school,
Oski Pskiknowew Kamik.

After realizing that we
were second cousins

she offered to help
me learn about my family tree.

(Nora) You have your grandmother,
Florence.

and her mother is Isabelle, and then,

I'm here. And your
grandmother. And your mom.

(Narrator) Um, Fancine.

(Nora) Your first cousins or

second cousins.
(Narrator) Ok.

(Nora) And you're down here.
(Narrator) I'm down there.

Yeah, this is more than,

a lot more than I knew before
I met you, before I came up.

(Nora) Yea, that's Isabelle.

Nohkom Isabelle.

(Narrator) This means a lot to me
to see this.

Again, um, because
the more that I see it the more that I

hear about this, and
talk about it

it's going to stick and
I know

I'll understand more and
know more through that process

(Nora) My dream for the language here,

starting with the school, is to have

our people who speak
the language, speak it

everyday, because we are not getting that.

There are many Cree speakers working here,

but they are not speaking it.

For people, the young families now
the young mothers

speak Cree to their children

and all the rest of it all follow.

Seeing a photo of my kukom Florence

as a young woman created a sense of
healing and re-connection

after feeling disconnected
for most of my life

Knowing more about my family's history

has allowed me to connect
deeper with my ancestors

There is so much more to discover

but, like learning the language,

this will take time.

The Kapaskwatinak
Cultural Education Center

is a place for the Children of Wabaska

to connect to the land and their culture.

Knowledge Keeper Lorraine Cardinal

helps guide the children
through land based education

including coming of age ceremonies.

I'm excited to learn about these teachings

since I didn't have the opportunities
to experience them

Growing up disconnected
from community and family.

The reason that I do these things,

like the coming of age because

it's also my responsibility
as a Naheo School

to protect the children,

creator's children.
And when I'm protecting creator's children

we need to teach them those protocols.

We need to teach those values.

They need to know them so that they don't

end up getting hurt in the future.

And that shame of our language

and who we are, and our ceremonial ways.

Losing those has caused big destruction

in our communities

Because our children,
as they're growing up,

they know who they are,

they came with the gift
of knowing who they are.

I have a responsibility to
pass those teachings

on to other children too,

because they will experiment,
they will explore

and we want to prevent them

from hurting each other or
hurting themselves, right?

(Singing and drums)

(Lorraine) They call that
oskeskwew (?) oskinîkiskwew (?)

young manhood and young womanhood.

I want to thank you and honor you for

coming into this world.

You are a blessing to us.

We are so very honored to have you

as part of us, Naheo school.

Always remember to hold your head up,
don't be ashamed

and always accept yourself for who you are

and honor those gifts you brought with you

And welcome into womanhood

Welcome.

It truly is a blessing and an honor to

have you as a young Naheo (Iskhoo?),

A young Naheo woman and welcome.

(children talking)

(Lorraine) Somehow, someway fear got

instilled in us people. Shame got

instilled in us as indigenous people.

Our children, what they experienced here

today taught them how sacred they are,

how important they are, how

beautiful they are and that they are not

just beautiful in physical form. That

they're beautiful in spiritual form too.

All we need to do is believe in them, to

love them, and to tell them that they're

important and they'll start feeling

good about themselves. I'm proud of

them. Their spirit is still alive and well.

(Narrator) What do you see being the way

forward so that these young ones in the
community

can not only understand the language

and its relationship to their spirit

and their relationship, to the land

to each other and to themselves but be

speaking it? How do you feel about

the future of the language in these

next generations to come?

We have to believe in ourselves to be able

to do it, and we need to set our goal and

if it revitalizes the language then lets

do that. How do we learn Cree? We learned

it sitting around with the old people

visiting eachother and our parents

speaking to us, you know? So, we can get

it back. We just need to do it.

John Bigstone is a Wabiskaw elder

who carries vast spiritual and

ceremonial knowledge.

He invited me to the land where he holds

sweat lodge ceremonies to share teachings

about the spirit within our languages.

(Music)

(Inhales deeply)

It clears your mind when you breathe in

this smudge.

English language is inadequate if you are going

to describe spirit.

Its inadequate.

They named it according to their

connection to the plant becuase they spoke

to the plant and they had a connection.

They had a connection to all of life. They

understood their environment.

They understood that everything was alive,

and your spirtit has a connection to that

spirit of mother earth, and everything

that grows on her body.

Prior to contact, everything that was

described in a more spiritual way.

You know, had a spiritual meaning.

(((((((((Time- 10:31)))))))