2002

The third annual CILLDI was held in La Ronge, Saskatchewan from July 2nd to 19th 2002. 52 students from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories were registered in the following courses:

NS 380: Intermediate Cree Language, Culture, and Literacy (Instructor Donna Paskemin, Teaching Assistant Billy Joe Laboucan)

LING 101: Introduction to Linguistics for Dene and Cree Speakers (Instructor Sally Rice)

EDES 401/501: Literacy and Drama in Aboriginal Language Education (Instructor Lon Borgerson, Teaching Assistant Maureen Belanger)

EDES 445/595: Teaching Second Languages in Elementary Education (Instructor Barb Laderoute, Teaching Assistant Edie Hyggen)

EDES 445/595: Ethnography: Inquiry into the Social Contexts of Aboriginal Language, Literacy, and Learning (Instructor Heather Blair)

This year the program was involved in numerous community events and excursions. The Cree class crossed Lac La Ronge by boat to attend an Elders and youth cultural camp, and all students and faculty visited the Cree community of Stanley Mission. Additionally, everyone traveled up Churchill River to Nistoyiak Falls, visited ancient pictographs, and participated in lakeside barbecues.

As in 2001, the students of Literacy and Drama in Aboriginal Language Education wrote and performed a play. The production was entitled Tawaw Nuheyatie, a mix of Cree and Dene meaning 'welcome to our languages.' The performance consisted of a collection of vignettes demonstrating the participants' growing awareness of indigenous language issues and their own personal and cultural identity in relation to language.

Languages spoken by students at the 2002 Institute included Cree, Dene Suline, Michif, and North Slavey.

CILLDI in the News 2002: