The goals of this community program was to provide a language outreach program as a means to heal the traumas of residential schools through a rejuvenation of Cree language. Classes were offered to students from all levels of knowledge and included everyone from Elders who did not have language learning opportunities, to fluent Cree speakers wanting to re-acquire literacy skills, and to non-Cree speakers starting with the basics of the Cree language. The program attained its objective of increasing language literacy to survivors and their children with 150 participants. There has also been increased outreach for Cree language learning to the greater Cree community through a social media Cree language page. This page has users across the several Cree communities and, as a result, is promoting and expanding the Cree language. This program has helped our community to be more in touch with our beautiful language and solidify the importance of language to the connection with our ancestors and culture.
“I was thinking last night before I went to bed about the language and the meaning of words and I remembered hearing my grandmother and aunt talking to me before I went to residential school. It’s different now, the language, people don’t speak that way anymore. I was thinking after our class last night, that what we are learning, this is the right way how to say it.” – Wemindji Community Cree Language Program Student
