The Need For pimācīhitatān nēhiyawēwin (Keep Our Language Alive)
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, when a language dies, the following occurs:
1. We lose the expression of a unique vision of what it means to be human.
2. We lose memory of the planet’s many histories and cultures.
3. We lose some of the best local resources for combatting environmental threats.
4. Some people lose their mother tongue.
All of the above are critical in a global environment where interdependence is necessary for growth.
Indigenous language programming has been in place for well over 30 years in various forms and with various levels of financial commitment from funders.
However, more needs to be done.
The YXE Cree Speakers Society
The YXE Cree Speakers Society was founded in 2021 by Milton Tootoosis, a nêhiyaw of the Poundmaker Cree Nation in Treaty Six Territory.
In 2021-22 the YXE Cree Speakers’ Society was awarded funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage to:
- Engage with grassroots fluent Plains Cree Language speakers to share successes in Cree language development and identify areas that require additional supports or changes;
- Conduct a survey with Indigenous peoples aged 18-30 who are interested in learning the Plains Cree Language and/or have taken Cree classes in the past and ask for their feedback on what they require to help them continue to develop their own Cree Language practice;
- Create an inventory of research, projects, reports, conferences, and programs that support the teaching of the Cree Language, and
- Gather together with those interested in developing and retaining the Plains Cree Language to collectively identify innovative strategies for moving forward.
Research
Roundtable discussions held at River Cree Resort & Casino (Enoch Cree Nation) and Dakota Dunes Resort (Whitecap Dakota First Nation) focused on identifying lessons learned from past language development strategies and the need to introduce more innovative products to support the Plains Cree (Y dialect) language development and retention.
The Aspiring Plains Cree Speakers Survey, conducted with 18-30 year-olds who have participated in formal or community-based Cree language programming in the past 25 years, found they would prefer learning programs that include storytelling, project-based learning, conversing with fluent speakers, and the use technology like learning apps.