Efforts move forward to protect Cree language in Quebec

A committee of language keepers has been chosen to help guide efforts to protect the Cree language used in northern Quebec.

The members of the ad-hoc advisory committee on the Cree language were appointed by the Cree Nation's first language commissioner, Jamie Moses, and met for the first time in November.

"The role (of the committee) will be to help us make decisions and guide us ... especially at the very beginning," said Moses, who has been in the position since January. 

There are no recent statistics about the state of the Cree language, but there is a general consensus that it is in serious decline. In 2018, the Cree hosted a Eeyou Istchee language engagement session that brought together more than 100 language experts. The last Cree language summit was held in 1997 and the last Cree language survey was in 1989. 

[The committee] will ... help us make decisions and guide us.- Jamie Moses, Cree language commissioner

The new committee is part of recent developments in the office of the Cree language commissioner that include helping some Cree communities access federal funding for language preservation.

Moses' office provided support for some local Cree communities to apply for and get federal funding under the Department of Canadian Heritage and its Indigenous languages and cultures program.

Federal funding for six communities

To date, six Cree communities have received funding for language projects, said Moses. 

They are Chisasibi, Wemindji, Eastmain, Nemaska, Waswanipi and MoCreebec, which is a Quebec Cree community whose members have been living in the Moose Factory/Moosonee area in Ontario for many generations. 

"We are encouraging the communities to establish a department on language," said Moses, adding there are two other communities whose applications are still under review. 

According to Canadian Heritage, a total of close to $925,000 was granted to the six communities for 2021-2022 and close to $900,000 for 2022-2023. The projects funded include the creation of language audio/visual documentation, the establishment of a local Elders' language advisory committees, community language surveys and the creation of local language kits, among others. 

For the language advisory committee, one of its first tasks was to help choose a title for the language commissioner position, Moses said.

A term used long ago was chosen.

ᐄᔨᔨᐅᔨᒧᐧᐃᓐ ᑭᓂᐧᐋᐱᒫᑭᓐ - ᒉᐃᒦ ᒧᓱᔅ, (Iiyiyiuyimuwin Kiniwaapimaakin).

The term means Cree language and a person who leads with care, according to Moses. 

"It's a powerful name," said Moses. "I am humbled and honoured to use this title our ancestors used long ago." 

The people chosen to sit on the advisory committee come from a range of backgrounds, from health and education to broadcasting, as well as hunting and trapping. 

They all master the Cree language in one of the three dialects that make up East Cree, northern, southern coastal or southern inland dialects, said Moses. 

Youngest language keeper

At the age of 30, Freddie Dixon is the youngest member of the committee.

"There are many working together here that are very wise with wisdom and older," said Dixon in Cree, adding it's an honour to be involved in the important work to be done. 

"For me, being the only young person ... I will look ahead to do what I can do to retain and keep the Cree language," he said.

Moses said there are a lot of important decisions to be made over the next few years about how the Cree nation wants to move forward with efforts to preserve and protect the Cree language. 

While he said his office is studying other jurisdictions, such as Nunavut's language commission, decisions on how best to use the Cree office are still to be made. 

"Our needs are a bit different from other First Nations," said Moses. 

A Facebook page for the language commissioner's office has also been created and they are trying to get funding to launch a newsletter in the new year, when the advisory committee and commissioner will be meeting again.