Wahbi Zarry and Soloman Ratt , an associate professor in the Department of Indigenous Languages , Arts , and Cultures at First Nations University of Canada , dive into a Cree language lesson . Photo courtesy of Wahbi Zarry
Canada . My perspectives on Indigenous languages will be different from a Canadian or someone with a European background .”
Adds Ratt , “ I thought ' 10 Days of Cree ' was a good project ; that is why I was receptive to his proposal . Most of the world ' s Indigenous languages have died and more are threatened . For those that have a chance of survival they must be used in multimedia projects like Wahbi ' s project and more visibility of their use in the communities . Right now , it is rare to hear any Indigenous language used in community gatherings , media broadcasts , and print-posters , newspapers , and books .”
In a recent post on the Faculty of Education ’ blog ,
Education News , Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Thomas Chase observed that Zarry ’ s video aligns with many of the University ’ s most important initiatives .
“' 10 Days of Cree ' is a fine example of the quality work our students produce , and just as importantly , a fine example of Reconciliation in action that should inspire and serve as an example for us all — particularly as we work to bring to life our new Strategic Plan , kahkiyaw kiwâhkômâkaninawak ,” said Chase .
Zarry started working on the production in December 2019 with the help of Tony Quiñones , a Regina filmmaker who served as director of photography and editor . The video features , among others , Chief of the Cowessess First Nation , Cadmus Delorme BAdmin ’ 13 , MPA ’ 16 and Saskatchewan ’ s Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty , S . O . M ., M . S . M ., a Cree speaker .
According to Ratt , language can ’ t be separated from culture . “ Language has all the aspects of being Indigenous or being a person ,” Ratt said in a 2019 interview on CBC Radio . “ Everything is present in the language ; family values , kinship systems , the respect you learn through the kinship systems , they ’ re all within the language ."
In Ratt , Zarry found an instructor with as much passion for teaching as he has for his language .
“ I was so impressed with Solomon ,” Zarry says . “ He encouraged me a lot . I think he agreed to do it because he was impressed by the fact that a non-
Indigenous guy coming from halfway around the world was interested in this subject .”
Zarry hopes that eventually Canada will find itself in a situation similar to New Zealand . In that country , the Indigenous language of Māori is one of three official languages ( along with English and New Zealand Sign language ) and these days many of the teachers of Māori are non- Indigenous teachers teaching Māori to Māori people .
“ I hope people learn from the video that Cree is a very interesting language to learn and there ’ s only one way to save Indigenous languages ,” says Zarry . “ I don ’ t like the word ‘ save ,’ I prefer the word ' revitalize ' the languages . When I say , ‘ learn the Cree language ,’ I don ’ t mean to be fluent . I urge everybody to take 10 hours to learn more about the Cree language .”
Since posting the video to YouTube , Zarry has received feedback from all over the world .
“ This is why we put the video on YouTube ,” he says . “ It can be seen by people all over the world . Just the other day I got a comment from a person in Turkey . I took the comment and translated it with Google Translate and the guy was saying very beautiful words . He was saying we have to protect all languages in the world .”
In August 2020 , Knowledge Keeper Joseph Naytowhow was invited to do the pipe ceremony for Tristan Durocher ' s hunger strike , which was done to draw the government ' s attention to youth suicide in Indigenous communities . Dr . Anna-Leah King was invited to participate in the closing pipe and feast ceremony . King says , " The feast gathered people from neighbouring communities ( reserves ) most likely relatives of the lost youth . When the feast was over , Tristan lead the group to the steps of the Legislature , where he ended the ceremony in cutting his braid ( showing great loss on behalf of families of lost youth ). He placed it on the handles of the doors to the Legislature Building for a few minutes . Then removed the braid and this concluded his 44-day fast to bring awareness to youth suicide in Indigenous communities ." Photos by Dr . Anna-Leah King |
Knowledge Keeper Joseph Naytowhow ( far right ) |
Tristan Durocher ( in orange ) |
The photos around tipi were of young Indigenous youth who committed suicide . |
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Education News | Page 13 |