Family Archives - Page 3 of 22

Mini Cree Language Lesson by Doreen Oakes

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Steffany Salloum

Doreen Oakes offers a mini language lesson for audience members at the Regina Elders Gathering.

Doreen Oakes was a Cree language educator at the First Nations University of Canada in the Department of Indigenous Languages, Arts, and Cultures until June 30th, 2016. In February 2020, at the Regina Elders Gathering, Oakes shared a brief Cree language lesson in this video clip. Oakes invites the audience to introduce themselves by saying hello, my name is and I am from, in Cree. For example, tânisi Doreen Oakes niya Nekaneet First Nation nitocin. Watch the clip for correct pronunciation!

Significance of the Number Four in Indigenous Worldviews

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

Lynn Cote discusses a circular worldview model and discusses the meaning of the sacred number four.

Lynn Cote was a guest speaker at the Regina Elders Gathering held in February 2020. Cote spoke about the importance of stories and language learning. Lynn Cote is a Saulteaux woman and educator from Cote First Nation, located north of Kamsack, Saskatchewan. In this clip, Cote discusses the importance of the number four in Saulteaux worldview and the importance of the circular worldview model. The worldview defines our relationship with the spirit land and all spirits that inhabit it.

Dene Culture and the Catholic Church

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

Comparing and recognizing similarities between Dene beliefs and the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

Margaret Reynolds, a Dene woman from English River First Nation, shares about the differences in Dene beliefs compared to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, with an audience at the Prince Albert Elders Gathering in March 2020. Reynolds explains how the Catholic Church was domineering in the north and people have lived without their traditional culture for a long time. She understands that the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux in Saskatchewan all believe in the same way and these beliefs have parallels beliefs of the Catholic Church. Thankfully though, a lot of Dene traditional ceremonies, songs, and drum are coming back after being suppressed for so long.

Dene Language Lesson

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

Margaret Reynolds shares a quick Dene language lesson focusing on the t-dialect.

Margaret Reynolds, a Dene woman from English River First Nation, shares the Dene language with an audience at the Prince Albert Elders Gathering in March 2020. First, she explains that Saskatchewan has 2 dialects the k-dialect (Black Lake, Fond du Lac, Stony) and the t-dialect (English River, etc.). She discusses the Denesuline language, sharing some words and meanings between dialects, acknowledging that there are over twenty Denesuline dialects across the country!

History and Timeline of the Dene People on Turtle Island

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

A sharing of the history of Dene people and the progression of losing language and culture since contact.

Margaret Reynolds, a Dene woman from English River First Nation, shares the history of Dene people on Turtle Island at the Prince Albert Elders Gathering in March 2020. Reynolds describes how life changed for the Dene people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta during contact with Europeans. She discusses how the Dene people lived and the nature of trade relations with trading posts before small pox.

Dene Hand Games

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

Elders and Knowledge Keepers from northern Saskatchewan demonstrate how to play a Dene Hand Game.

Elder Martin Broussie and Daniel Alphonse from Black Lake First Nation with Allan Adam and George MacDonald from Fond du Lac demonstrate how to play a Dene Hand Game at the Prince Albert Elders Gathering in March 2020. The Dene Hand Game is a guessing game where individual players or teams of players hide objects in one of their hands. The other team must guess which hand the object is in in order to score points – be careful though, points can be stolen!

Dancing Circles: Strong Hoop, Strong Spirit

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Steffany Salloum

Bringing hoop dancing to life through an instructional video.

The video, Dancing Circles: Strong Hoop, Strong Spirit (2003), is a Cree/English Instructional Resource on Hoop Dancing. The Hoop Dance is the accompanying Teacher Resource and both are aligned with Saskatchewan Learning curriculum. These resources are shared with permission from the writer, Anna-Leah King, Division Tech Media at the University of Saskatchewan, and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division.

Art Petahtegoose – Thinking in Our Language and Our Role in Creation

Posted on May 7, 2020 by John Vallely

An Elder, who is preparing Anishinaabe people to be responsible, knowledgeable about their culture, creation and to show us our own personal role in Creation.

An Elder, who is preparing Anishinaabe people to be responsible, knowledgeable about their culture, creation and to show us our own personal role in Creation.

Teresa McGregor – Anishnawbek Ways of Knowing

Posted on by John Vallely

“Choices” is an alternative School and General Cultural Programming within Native Friendship Centre and Native Health centres. The goal of the program was to revitalize culture and incorporate Anishnawbek ways.

Think Indigenous – An Initiative Supporting Indigenous Knowledge

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Yvonne Benjoe

The Think Indigenous initiative inspires educators to think about education through an Indigenous knowledge lens.

Chris Scribe is the Executive Director and Board Chair of Think Indigenous, an initiative that seeks to support programs, innovations, and education that focus on Indigenous knowledge. Scribe believes that Indigenous knowledge is “an embodiment of life, it’s all levels of understanding relative to the area in which we live.” Scribe explains that what is needed now is for Indigenous people to create curriculums based on Indigenous knowledge that can be used within our education system. We need to invite our Knowledge Keepers into our classrooms so that traditional knowledge is valued and honoured. As well, leaders in education need to make room for educators to try Indigenous methods and approaches to learning.