In 2015, Simon Bird created the Facebook group, #CreeSimonSays, with the aim of having fun while helping others connect and learn Cree. Originally from Southend, Reindeer Lake, Bird is a fluent and passionate Cree speaker. He has a Bachelor of Education degree, Master of Education degree, and a Master of Northern Governance & Development degree and works as the Education Director for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. At 6:00 am every Monday through Friday, he logs onto the Facebook group and leads participants through interactive learning activities on Facebook Live. Learners listen and follow what Cree Simon says: it’s as simple as saying “May you kiss a cow”, pronounced “May you geese sih gow”. In Cree, this means “miyo kisikāw”, and in English “it’s a good day”. His social media posts include Cree and English words, common pictures and film clips revised with Cree expressions and phrases, and picture word games used as cues to help people learn the language. The overall goals are to help participants: identify various levels of learning and find common ground with other language learners; become familiar with downloadable apps that can help them learn and teach Cree; and learn the basics of speaking an Indigenous language.
