Revitalists use social platforms to share Indigenous language learning with a new generation

Novalee Fox, Willis Janvier and Samson LaMontagne have turned to societal media to stock their passionateness for Indigenous connection learning with the younger generation.  

Novalee Fox: Cree connection revitalization

Novalee Fox is an Indigenous contented creator from Ochapowace First Nation, who makes contented to beforehand a steadfast mode of living, and Cree connection revitalization. 

"When I was a small girl, my chapans [great-grandparents] passed distant erstwhile they were similar 90 years old, but they ever spoke to me nothing but Cree from zero to 4 years old," she said. "I was astir Cree-speaking my full life." 

Although she grew up astir Cree and could talk the connection a little, Fox says couldn't recognize the stories that were being told, which ever bothered her. 

When she graduated from precocious school, she attended post-secondary astatine the Regina field of First Nations University of Canada, wherever she started taking Cree classes.

However, her connection reclamation way didn't commencement until she was connected a healing journey. 

Fox says she attended a attraction centre successful Montreal Lake Cree Nation, wherever she stayed for 4 months dealing with cause and intoxicant abuse.

"My intelligence wellness therapist was fluent Cree, my elder was fluent Cree and besides my [Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program Worker] was fluent Cree, truthful we conversed backmost and distant successful Cree," she said. "You tin work and constitute Cree, but if you're not really speaking with those kêtayak, those aged people, you're not going to understand."

About a twelvemonth and a fractional ago, Fox says, she began utilizing the TikTok app and saw determination were tons of fluent Cree speakers retired there, inspiring her to make her ain content

"I was like, 'uhhh, I wanna bash this too,'" she said. "I lone talk a small bit, but I was practising backmost and distant with these radical and my assemblage got bigger and I talked astir healing and surviving that bully life."

She says societal media was a mode for her to link with the younger generation, and has been a almighty instrumentality successful connection revitalization.

"I tin archer I'm reaching young people, adjacent conscionable successful my community. They'll travel up to maine and we'll accidental comic words successful Cree and we'll converse a small bit. It's a spot broken, but astatine slightest they're speaking Cree," she said. 

Fox says she is opening to spot the interaction her contented is having connected the young people. 

"I retrieve my kohkoms [grandmothers] and my chapans ever saying to talk arsenic overmuch Cree arsenic you can, adjacent if you marque a mistake, support speaking due to the fact that we can't, we can't fto those aged assemblage systems and assimilation policies win," she said. 

"Our connection is beautiful. It's not evil, it's beautiful, truthful I consciousness awesome erstwhile I spot the kids successful my assemblage are online trying to talk due to the fact that it tin happen."

Fox has a spot of proposal for younker conscionable opening to larn the language.

"It's not your responsibility that you mislaid your language, but you're going to assistance bring it back. We woody with those antagonistic energies online, but you conscionable gotta kiyâm, just fto it beryllium and fto it go, and âhkamêyimow, don't springiness up."

Willis Janvier: Podcast successful Dene a large success

Willis Janvier, a Dene speaker from Wood Buffalo Dene Nation successful bluish Saskatchewan, creates contented connected each societal media platforms. 

"The instauration of who I americium is Dene — Dene language and wherever I travel from,"Janvier said . 

Janvier started sharing the Dene connection connected his podcast Dene Yati (Dene language/ Dene Speaking) five years agone during the COVID-19 pandemic, and present helium emcees events, does motivational speaking and works as a sportscaster successful his autochthonal language. 

"I've wanted to discontinue galore times," helium said. "In the opening I wanted it to enactment truthful bad. I could spot that radical were entertained by immoderate of the contented that I was putting out, you know, and I didn't privation to fail. I don't similar to fail, and I don't similar to quit." 

Janvier said helium uses societal media to summation accusation and arsenic a instrumentality for processing his content.

"It's been a bully mode to scope a batch of people," helium said. "When I'm accordant with the content, you know, I scope hundreds of thousands of people, and past if I request a break, it gets less, but I don't fto those numbers fuss maine anymore.

"As agelong arsenic idiosyncratic is learning from it, successful a affirmative way," he said, that is what matters.

There person been galore times erstwhile helium has felt similar quitting, but helium would get emails from strangers telling him however his contented had inspired them. 

"A young woman from bluish Saskatchewan said [she] was successful foster care, convey you for your podcast, I'm trying to find my language," helium said.

Another connection of acknowledgment came from a residential schoolhouse survivor, and different from a linguist from Russia who reached retired to archer him that the connection was beautiful. 

"When we look astatine connection arsenic important arsenic a degree, ideate however galore fluent speakers determination volition be," Janvier said. "If we worth our languages arsenic overmuch arsenic a degree, conscionable ideate however fluent we would beryllium successful each areas."

Samson LaMontagne: Spreading the connection successful Michif

Samson LaMontagne, a schoolhouse teacher astatine Georges Vanier Catholic Fine Arts School successful Saskatoon, is Métis from Regina. His household is from the Red River and the vale of Lebret. 

He is besides a Michif connection learner who shares that language with others done societal platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

LaMontagne grew up speaking French and had French immersion passim his people schoolhouse years, and took immoderate French courses astatine university. However, it wasn't until helium went backmost to schoolhouse for his 2nd grade that helium began to larn much astir his Indigenous language, Michif. 

"After I graduated from the kinesiology programme astatine [University of Saskatchewan], I went backmost to schoolhouse for my 2nd grade arsenic a teacher astatine Suntep [Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program]," LaMontagne said.

At Gabriel Dumont Institute, a schoolhouse for Métis, helium began to larn much astir the Michif language.

"We ne'er truly heard astir it oregon heard it being spoken, but we heard that immoderate Métis radical spoke that language," helium said.

LaMontagne was able to statesman learning the connection from a Métis Elder and Michif talker Norman Fleury, . 

"The precise archetypal people I took was portion I was inactive astatine university. They had a assemblage class, which was 1 people a week for an hour," helium said. "It was 100 bucks. You know, I was a struggling student, but I knew it was truly important.

"I'm truly passionate astir it," LaMontagne said. "Even though I've been learning it for 10 years, I inactive person that hunger and tendency to larn much and much and much due to the fact that I person a agelong mode to spell earlier I would beryllium adjacent considered a fluent speaker."  

LaMontagne started sharing Michif connected societal platforms during the pandemic as a mode for him to enactment connected with his students, and to thatch them and others the language. He says the accrued accessibility was important. 

"I was taught: God, our creator gave america the Michif connection and truthful I don't ain it, truthful I privation to stock with everyone. I privation arsenic galore radical retired determination to larn Michif and to usage it," helium said. 

"So that's wherefore I truly emotion societal media due to the fact that our aged ones, our cognition keepers, our connection keepers, they ever accidental we gotta link with the younker and we gotta beryllium wherever the younker are."

LaMontagne says arsenic agelong arsenic helium tin marque his contented amusive and casual to learn, the younker are going to prime it up, too. 

"I deliberation what radical request to bash is to judge successful themselves, adjacent though they're, you know, their connection travel mightiness conscionable beryllium starting. You gotta judge that you tin bash it and past it tin happen."