Piapot students take part in Aboriginal mini language showcase
- Fraser Needham | June 13, 2015
A group of First Nations students was recently given a first-hand opportunity to experience the diversity of Aboriginal languages.
The students attend the Payepot School on the Piapot First Nation, about 50 kilometres northeast of Regina.
They were part of the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council’s Mini Language Festival Showcase which took place May 13 and 14.
The event was made possible through a grant provided by Sask Culture.
The Multicultural Initiatives Fund will provide up to $10,000 for eligible cross-cultural educational projects, multicultural events and First Nations and Métis awareness raising events.
Non-profit entities, First Nations bands and municipalities are few of the organizations eligible to apply for funding.
FHQTC comprises 11 separate First Nations in the Treaty Four area of the province.
Five different traditional languages are spoken within the tribal council including Cree, Dakota, Lakota, Saulteaux and Nakota.
Bill Cook, a Cree language instructor at Payepot School, was one of the organizers of Mini Language Festival.
He says they wanted to expose the students to the rich diversity of First Nations languages spoken in this part of the province.
“We wanted to showcase a song, so we picked something generic that everybody knows and that was ‘O Canada,’” he says. “So we did the national anthem in the four languages Cree, Dakota, Saulteaux and Nakota. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anyone there that could do Lakota.”
Cook says the event also featured a reading in each of the traditional languages and this was followed by a powwow dance highlighting different styles of both traditional and modern.
The Fishing Lake First Nation School in east central Saskatchewan also recently made use of the Multicultural Initiatives Fund to host a four-day event to promote cultural understanding.
The Fishing Lake reserve, which is located about 18 kilometres southeast of Wadena, is also in the Treaty 4 area.
Along with the Muskowekwan First Nation and Wadena elementary schools, the Fishing Lake school hosted a cultural camp from June 8-11.
As part of the outdoor cultural camp, students took part in various activities including beading, dry meat making, quillwork, moss bag teaching, canoeing and a teepee raising.
“It’s really important to have young people learn about their culture and language so it doesn’t get lost,” Fishing Lake First Nation School Principal Peter Pavelich says. “Also, it bridges the gap between the communities to establish a better understanding of the culture.”
For more information about grants, go to the Sask Culture website.
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