Simon Bird created the Facebook group, #CreeSimonSays, four years ago with the aim of having fun while helping others to connect and learn Cree. He is a fluent Cree speaker with a passion for carrying on the Cree language. Simon Bird—who is originally from Southend, Reindeer Lake—has a B.Ed, M.Ed, and a Master of Northern Governance & Development degree and works as the Education Director for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. From Monday to Friday, he logs onto the site at 6am daily and leads participants through interactive learning activities on Facebook Live. His social media posts include Cree words, English words, common pictures and film clips revised with Cree expressions and phrases, and picture word games used as cues and aides to help people learn the language.
The overall goals are to help participants:
Identify various levels of learning and find a common ground with other language learners.
Get familiar with apps that they can download to learn and teach the Cree Language.
Learn the basics of speaking an Indigenous language.