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To highlight the work Creation Grantees are doing in their communities, the Creation Community Grants Team sends out Q&A forms so they can share their experiences creating and carrying out their projects. Today we are featuring responses from Mackenzie (respondent) and Jennifer from nēhiyawēwin otāpasinahikēwak māmawinitowin (Nehiyaw Arts Collective).
Community: Otôskwanihk(Calgary)
Grant Type: Youth Empowerment Stream 2024
Q: Tell us about your group and project!
A: The Nehiyaw Language Arts Collective, based in Treaty 7 Territory in Otôskwanihk (Calgary), is a vibrant community of Indigenous Cree artists dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of the Cree language and culture. Established in 2023, the collective has since become a hub for linguistic and artistic exploration, fostering a sense of community, identity, and empowerment among its members.
The weekly gatherings of the Nehiyaw Language Arts Collective are centered around Cree language classes, providing members with the tools, resources, and community to reclaim and revitalize their ancestral language of Cree (Nehiyawewin). This commitment to language reclamation is not only a means of preserving a crucial aspect of Indigenous identity but also serves as a foundation for the group’s artistic endeavors.
One of the key highlights of the collective is its focus on professional development in language reclamation within the arts. Members engage in continuous learning and skill-building, ensuring that their artistic expressions serve as powerful vehicles for language preservation. Through weekly language workshops, mentorship, and collaborative projects, the Nehiyaw Language Arts Collective creates a dynamic environment for the intergenerational transmission of artistic knowledge, weaving traditional wisdom into contemporary artistic practices. Through this funding, we were also able to create a new, accessible language resource with common, contemporary phrases.
“Reclaiming your Indigenous language is a joy, and a grieving at the same time. We realized that we needed to be more trauma informed in our approach and give ourselves the time and space to grieve the loss of language and culture that our families have experienced. However, in the process, comes joy. We experience joy together through music, song, and language.”
Q: As the youth running the project, what impact do you hope it will have?
A: At the core of the collective’s mission is the elevation of Nehiyaw/Cree voices and stories through community-based consciousness raising, language gatherings, and community art initiatives. The members envision a future where the sustained use of the Cree language fosters harmonious families, communities, and Nations among young adults and youth in Calgary. This vision reflects a commitment to not only preserving cultural heritage but actively contributing to the well-being and strength of the Indigenous community. By revitalizing and re-establishing Cree as primary language in the home, this collective also contributes to global efforts to saving endangered languages (including Cree), inspired by the United Nation’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Q: What is something you have learned?
A: There were so many learnings in this project. The first thing we learned, was that reclaiming your Indigenous language is a joy, and a grieving at the same time. We realized that we needed to be more trauma informed in our approach and give ourselves the time and space to grieve the loss of language and culture that our families have experienced. However, in the process, comes joy. We experience joy together through music, song, and language. We learned about laughing and how important it is to be gentle on ourselves, like babies learning how to speak.
The other thing that we learned was how important it is to break your project into phases. Language reclamation and the journey is long, and very complicated. We should have broken this project into a research phase, a consultation phase, and then the development of a language resource. All of it together was too much.
“At the core of the collective’s mission is the elevation of Nehiyaw/Cree voices and stories through community-based consciousness raising, language gatherings, and community art initiatives. The members envision a future where the sustained use of the Cree language fosters harmonious families, communities, and Nations among young adults and youth in Calgary.”
Q: What is your favourite moment from running your project?
A: One of my favourite moments have included a participant writing their own song in nehiyawewin! This participant just started, and was nervous at first to speak Cree. However, a year later, she has written and composed a song in Cree and taught the group! Seeing participants use language to make their own songs, zines, art, beading and more is my favourite thing.
Q: Do you have any feedback from participants you’d like to share?
A: Yes, so much. Participants have remarked how Cree class is their favourite weekly activity, and that is has helped them get through hard times in their lives. It’s important to remember that we are all in this journey together, and that together we are stronger.
