Saulteaux Archives

Significance of the Number Four in Indigenous Worldviews

Posted on janvier 26, 2021 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.

The Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Oyate

Posted on by Steffany Salloum

In Lakota ceremonies we pray for good health, happiness, help, and understanding.

Tim Poitras is from Muskowpetung First Nation and is the Sundance Chief of Woptura and the Tiospaye of Pine Ridge South Dakota. At the Regina Elders Gathering held in February 2020, Poitras shares his knowledge and experiences in order to create an awareness of good health, happiness, help, and understanding. In his presentation he discusses the people of the Seven Council Fires, the Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Oyate, and the Creation Story. The history and knowledge Poitras shares reminds us to honour those that have left us to the spirit world and respect the knowledge and traditions of our people.

At the Regina Elders Gathering held in February 2020, Tim Poitras, from Muskowpetung First Nation, shared about his role in his community and his understanding of Lakota ceremonies. Poitras provides an overview of the Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Oyate including the following ceremonial rights:

Canupa: The Sacred Pipe Ceremony
Inipi: The Sweat Lodge;
Hanblecha: The Vision Quest
Wiwangwacipi: The Sun Dance;
Hunkapi: The Making of Relatives; The Keeping of The Soul;
Ishna Ta Awi Cha Lowan: Preparing a Girl for Womanhood and a Man for Manhood.

Language Retention a Priority for Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre

Posted on mai 10, 2019 by Christine Fiddler

Since 1972, SICC has been protecting, preserving, and promoting First Nations languages.

Priscilla St. John is the Education and Language Specialist for the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre (SICC). As the first Indigenous controlled education institution serving Saskatchewan, SICC offers opportunities for cultural revitalization for the following First Nations: Plains Cree, Swampy Cree, Woodlands Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota and Lakota. First Nations Elders met to discuss the importance of Indigenous language acquisition and developed outcomes that, combined with the provincially mandated curriculum, create the language-based curriculum that SICC promotes. St. John explains, First Nations languages start with our ways of knowing, our stories, our ancestors, our laws, our protocols, and are guided by Elders, which are all connected to the Creator. SICC provides First Nations with educational resources and language workshops that derive from their land-based and sacred language curricula. These opportunities and resources are available to anyone who is interested in language revitalization.

Master-Apprentice Indigenous language revitalization in Michif and Other Indigenous Languages

Posted on mars 18, 2019 by Laura Forsythe

Prairies to Woodlands Indigenous Language Revitalization Circle Master-Apprentice Indigenous language revitalization aims to build the capacity of fluent-speaking Elders and others (“masters”) and committed learners (“apprentices”) to work as language learning teams in hopes of keeping their endangered ancestral languages alive. P2WILRC, a grassroots all-volunteer community group based in the Parkland, was given a grant from Canadian Heritage’s Aboriginal Language Initiative to run the MAP pilot project. At the time of this interview, there are five funded Master-Apprentice Program (MAP) teams—three Michif, one Swampy Cree, and one Ojibwe who will work for upwards of 300 hours together by March 31, 2019.