'Keep thinking about the goal': 87-year-old U of Sask. grad hopes to help revitalize Cree language

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: May 25, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

When Louise Fraser walked crossed the signifier connected Saturday day astatine Saskatoon's Prairieland Park, she felt blessed to execute a extremity she worked truthful hard for. She wasn't conscionable receiving a teaching degree, she said — she was reclaiming thing that was astir taken from her arsenic a child. 

"When I was a child, I was fluent successful the Cree language, due to the fact that I heard it each the clip astatine location from my family. But erstwhile I went to residential school, I was not capable to usage my connection anymore," Fraser said. 

At 87 years old, Fraser is the oldest postgraduate successful the past of the University of Saskatchewan's Indian Teacher Education Program, a four-year acquisition programme designed for First Nations students who privation to get a bachelor of acquisition degree.

On Saturday, she received her degree, on with 38 others successful beforehand of family, friends and supporters. 

Fraser's Cree name, wîhkaskwa iskwéw, means "Sweetgrass Woman." She's a subordinate of Mistawasis Nêhiyawak, westbound of Prince Albert, and was taken from her household and sent to residential schoolhouse successful Manitoba erstwhile she was 8 years old.

"Being astatine residential school, losing my identity, my connection and my civilization — we had to permission it behind," she said. "We couldn't travel our civilization anymore."

Being forced to wantonness her civilization planted the seeds for a beingness of learning and reclamation. She raised 4 children and got diplomas and a master's degree, and worked successful antithetic fields, from libraries to intelligence health. But determination was much Fraser wanted to do. 

She applied to the University of Saskatchewan teacher acquisition program in 2023, pursuing successful the footsteps of her granddaughter, who graduated from the aforesaid programme successful 2018.

Although she initially felt retired of spot surrounded by caller exertion and younger classmates, she soon recovered spot and community, she said.

The programme is centred astir Indigenous culture, connection and teacher grooming — thing Fraser said is indispensable for empowerment of the younger generations. 

"I heard astir galore radical not speaking our languages anymore. Parents aren't speaking the connection to their children. I thought going backmost to schoolhouse would beryllium a mode of getting it back," Fraser said.  

Now, astatine 87, Fraser has achieved her imagination of becoming a teacher.

When asked what proposal she would springiness to idiosyncratic who thinks it's excessively precocious to spell backmost to school, Fraser didn't hesitate.

"Figure retired what you privation to do, marque plans to marque it happen…. Just support reasoning astir the goal," she said.  

As for what's next, Fraser says she plans to walk her clip teaching Cree and sharing her communicative successful schools and communities.