Books Aim To Teach Northern Kids Michif Language
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 10:08
A teacher from northern Saskatchewan hopes his new books will help kids learn their Native languages.
Vince Ahenakew, principal of Rossignol High School in Ile-a-la-Crosse, says he wrote the two books — a Michif and Cree dictionary and a grammar book — as resources for teachers and students across the province
The books contain thousands of words in the Northern Michif language, a combination of northern Plains Cree and French that is spoken mostly in northwestern Saskatchewan.
Ahenakew says many kids in his hometown aren’t even familiar with their own language.
“Right now, there’s very, very few kids that know the language…. They understand a little. We call it ‘baby Michif’ or ‘baby Cree’ — they’ve only know three or four little words here and there,” he says.
The books are published by the Gabriel Dumont Institute.