You will find all resources and recordings from the Nêhiyawêwin (Cree) Language Course below
Information
Introductory Nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree) Language Course (8 x 90 min classes)
Join us for a Cree language course that weaves together language learning and cultural teachings through storytelling. This course offers participants the opportunity to learn Cree words and phrases while gaining deeper insights into the cultural values, traditions, and knowledge embedded in Nêhiyawêwin.
Whether you are new to the Cree language or looking to deepen your understanding, this course provides a welcoming space to learn, reflect, and grow through the power of storytelling and community.
This course is open to everyone – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants who wish to learn to uplift language revitalization. If you are a non-Indigenous language learner, we just ask that you review these reflections on what it means to be a non-Indigenous learner in an Indigenous language learning course.
Your Instructor:
Rollin Baldhead is Nêhiyaw (Cree) of One Arrow First Nation in Saskatchewan. As an Indigenous educator with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan, he now uses his degree and skill that he’s learned from his family, friends, and life experiences to teach in a classroom and on the land.
Throughout the course, Rollin will share stories that bring the language to life, connecting learners to the teachings, histories, and perspectives of Nêhiyaw. Special guests from his community and family will join to share their own stories and knowledge, enriching the experience with diverse voices and connections to the land.
Supporting Resource (optional):
The Importance of this Learning:
Indigenous languages carry connections to lands, ancestors, traditions, and contain ecological knowledge crucial for sustainable living, medicinal practices, and traditional storytelling, enriching our collective wisdom. By supporting Indigenous language revitalization efforts, we not only preserve linguistic diversity but also uphold Indigenous Peoples’ fundamental rights to their languages and cultures.
Our intention being not to offer a second language program where participants achieve fluency, but rather to provide a spark—an introduction that inspires and encourages further engagement with the language and broader revitalization efforts. We aim to create a welcoming space where learners can begin their journey, build connections, and develop a foundation for future learning opportunities.
Non-Indigenous participants can take steps towards reconciliation by participating in language courses like these as a way to uplift language revitalization and deepen their own understanding of local place. We just ask that you review these reflections on what it means to be a non-Indigenous learner in an Indigenous language learning course.
We offer this language learning opportunity in partnership with Natural Curiosity and SaskOutdoors.
Dates & times:
- 8 x 90 minute language learning sessions on zoom
- Wednesdays at 7pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific time
- March 12, 19, 26 / April 2, 9, 16, 30 / May 7
- Recorded and the recording will be shared in case you can’t make all of the sessions
- A Certificate of Attendance is provided for attending the live and/or virtual sessions
Zoom Link (Same for all sessions): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88304453253
Recordings and Resources
Week 1
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Week 2
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Pronunciation Guide for Plains Cree – Summarized by Dwayne Goulet with the following reference: Drawing on the scholarship of Arok Wolvengrey, Jean Okimâsis, and others at the Cree Editing Council in Saskatchewan, as well as on that of Freda Ahenakew and H. Christoph Wolfart, I have used the Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) to represent the sounds of nêhiyawêwin, the Plains Cree language. The work of these scholars has contributed greatly to the accurate preservation of Plains Cree pronunciation. The description below is based on Okimâsis and Wolvengrey’s How to Spell It in Cree, especially chapter 3, “What to Use to Spell in Cree.”
Brian MacDonald – Peyak, Niso, Nisto
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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Week 7
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