Preserving Indigenous identity and culture through language

Dorothy Thunder, a Plains Cree (nêhiyawiskwêw) from Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan, first learned to speak Cree as a child. While her older siblings were sent to residential schools, and eventually lost their connection to their language and culture, Thunder was among the younger children in the family who stayed behind at home. As a result, she learned about her own language and culture from her family and elders in the community.

“When they came back from residential school, they lost the confidence in speaking because they weren’t allowed to use language,” she says. “But the ones that didn’t go and were at home with the elders, we heard a lot of the language and the teachings that came with it and it was all in our language.” 

Today, those teachings are gifts she is honoured to share with others. As a Cree language instructor and translator in the Faculty of Native Studies, she helps dozens of students at the University of Alberta learn the language each year.

For some of those students, the classes are an opportunity to reconnect with culture, history and traditions that have been lost, often due to the residential school system. So in addition to classroom and online studies, Thunder helps students learn Cree through on-the-land teaching, in the form of a seven-day summer camp. Being in a natural setting, she explains, allows students to engage with the Cree language in a more holistic way — similar to how she learned it as a child.

“Different things that I grew up with is what we got to share with others who don’t have that, who never grew up with that,” she says. “So for them, they said there was always something missing in them and now they realize, ‘Wow, this is a piece of me that was not there.’”

The classes are open to students of Indigenous or non-Indigenous backgrounds. The only requirement, she explains, is an interest in learning and preserving the Cree language. And seeing non-Indigenous students take an interest in learning Cree brings her joy.

“They say, ‘Well, it’s very important to me because this is the land that we share with you and we should try to at least learn some of your language as well. So I feel very honoured when they say that they want to learn,” she says.

Developing Cree-language resources for learners

In addition to her language instruction work, Thunder also stays busy with translations. While much of her work centres on translating documents for governments or museums, she also translates books into Cree. By making more titles available, particularly for young learners, Thunder hopes to help them build a stronger foundation in the Cree language from an early age.

“They’re starting new programs and whether they want to build one or whether they want to enhance an existing program, there’s a lot of demand for nêhiyawêwin — the Cree language,” she says.

But in some cases, Thunder’s translations also help authors reconnect with their own heritage. She recently translated a book written in English by Nakota and Nehiyaw author Heather O’Watch, titled Auntie’s Rez Surprise. Before the translation, Thunder and O’Watch had never met. But after Auntie’s Rez Surprise was published as okāwīsimāw omēkiwin askīhkānihk ohci, the two women connected and bonded over their shared history.

“She was very honoured. Her kookum — her grandma — spoke Cree. But it got lost along the way,” Thunder says. “So it was very special for her to see the language in her own story. And practising to read it, right? For her it was a huge thing to have her book translated.”

Those kinds of experiences are what motivate Thunder to work in what can sometimes be a challenging field. Translating Cree to English isn’t always easy, she explains, because many of the relational aspects of Cree don’t have English-language equivalents. But every document she translates and every class she teaches helps to ensure future generations of Cree learners will have a greater pool of knowledge and resources to draw from.

“The most rewarding part is teaching my language to others that don’t have it, because it’s not an easy language to learn,” she says. “You start to use the language and share it with the students or participants that want to learn. Just hearing somebody else use the language, I think it’s the most important thing for me.”