Sask. woman working to reclaim Saulteaux language and pass it along to others

Darla Ponace · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Natalie Langan grew up speaking Saulteaux, but aft the decease of her grandma adjacent to 20 years ago, she stopped speaking her language. 

Now, she's on a travel to reclaim it.  

Langan, who is from from Cote First Nation, astir 230 kilometres northeast of Regina, was raised connected Fishing Lake First Nation by her precocious grandmother, and was a fluent talker of Saulteaux — also known arsenic Anihšināpēmowin or Nahkawêwin — earlier her grandmother's death.

"I consciousness similar my connection went on with her, due to the fact that I had cipher to talk the connection with anymore," said Langan. 

The 2 would talk the connection to each other, and it was their archetypal connection astatine home. 

"She was the 1 that I spoke Saulteaux to," said Langan. "So erstwhile she passed away, I felt similar I had nary 1 to talk to, truthful I didn't speak."

But 3 years ago, Langan decided to relearn her language.

She took classes astatine the First Nations University of Canada successful Regina from Lorena Lynn Cote, a module subordinate with the university's section of Indigenous languages, arts and cultures.

"When I started relearning my language, it was not lone rewarding, challenging and exciting, but besides truly eye-opening," said Langan. "It truly makes maine alert of however important it was that I restarted this journey."

As she continued, "I besides truly wanted to thatch what I was relearning, what I was learning," she said. "I wanted to walk that on."

Now, she's teaching a weekly online class, and sharing the connection in her ain way. 

"I see myself a mentor, and everybody that joins the class, they are my apprentice students," she said. 

Langan said it's important to her to support radical engaged and learning.

"Every 1 of these students that are taking my people has a story," she said. "They're conscionable trying to beryllium similar maine and get their connection back."

San Francisco Bay country sisters learning Saulteaux

Padme James and her sister, Beru James, are learning to talk Saulteaux done Langan's play online classes. They're also from the Cote First Nation successful Saskatchewan, are but presently living in the San Francisco Bay area.

"I've ever had that impulse to reconnect and larn my culture, and link with the radical who unrecorded connected my reservation," said Padme.

Beru said she loves her First Nations heritage.

"I privation to beryllium capable to talk with different people," she said. "I privation to beryllium capable to accidental 'kisāwēnimin, I emotion you,' to my sister, oregon to my gramps also."

Since starting Langan's class, some sisters are excelling astatine learning the language. 

"I emotion speaking my language," said Padme. "I consciousness grateful that I get to, due to the fact that I cognize for a agelong clip radical were not allowed to."

Beru also said she's proud to beryllium capable to talk the connection now. 

"I deliberation it's beautiful," she said. "I tin accidental 'ānīn nimihšomihš' — 'hi, my grandfather,' and I tin speech to my father, like, 'nipāpā kisāwēnimin, I emotion you, my dad.'"

Beru said there's a learning curve to learning immoderate caller language, but Langan has been a large teacher. 

"She makes learning this connection truthful casual and truthful accessible."