Wītatoskemitotan (Let’s Work Together)

Kihteyak (Elders) and Area 5 language teachers met with the Frontier School Division Land-Based Coordinator and the Language Coordinator, and a Norway House Cree Nation Councillor to discuss the importance of Ininimowin for our students and to establish a common vocabulary. The common vocabulary agreed upon is being used to create poster sets and to finalize the draft curriculum for Nursery to Grade 4. These teaching tools will be used in classrooms and community to ensure that our students and staff have the materials they need for language teaching and revitalization.

Our Elders teach us that our Cree language is one of emotional connection to the land and our relations. It ensures that we have wellness – spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional. Having our Cree language helps us to know who we are, it connects us to our land, culture, traditional teachings, and values.

If we continue revitalizing our language, we will continue to support our students in knowing who they are as Ininiwak. If we lose our language, we will lose a foundational piece of our identity. There are so many beautiful teachings that our Kihteyak share with us. We encourage you to talk with them, speak the language with them, and invite them into your classrooms.

Ekosani, Kininaskomitinawaw