ē kakwē nēhiyaw pimātisiyān ōta nīkihk: THE LIFELONG JOURNEY HOME

Abstract

nēhiyaw ōma niya, nēhiyawak ōma kiyānaw, pakitwāhkan sāhkihikan ohci niya, māka mīna kihci tipahamātowin nikotwāsihk askiy. niya ohkomimāw, niya okāwīmāw, niya okāwīsimāw, ēkwa niya omīsimāw māka mīna onīkānēw wīci atoskēwin ta pimācihtāhk nēhiyawēwin pēkiskwēwin. In this manuscript-style dissertation, I explore my lifelong journey of language reclamation in a de-colonial approach. In nine papers I share my narrative beginnings, research, and renderings and delve into nēhiyaw epistemology, the main source of ancestral knowledge continuity in nēhiyaw people. I explore the value of dreams, visions, and intuition and how I use them to inform my teaching practice. I also inquire into experiences of ethical space and explore its potential for the field of language revitalization. In gathering, collecting, and interpreting my stories and the stories of others through the medium of talking circles, I rekindle my relationship with the nēhiyaw spirit. My inquiry into my lifelong journey as a practitioner grounded in nēhiyaw intelligence has emerged from these papers. In examining my experiences as a helper, a conduit, and, most important, a language sharer, I attend to the questions, What are the learning processes for new adult speakers of Cree that lead to a reclamation of both language and inherent identity? What is the role of land as curriculum with regard to enhancing Cree identity? What are the conceptual and Indigenous language pedagogical ways that lead learners inward to gain knowledge, and how do they differ from mainstream educational practices? Many Indigenous Peoples are affected by long-term Canadian policies such as the Gradual Civilization Act, Indian Act 1876, residential schools, and forced assimilation and relocation (Johnson, 1998; McCarty, 2003; McIvor, 2012; Simpson, 2017; Sioui, 1992). As a result of the enactment of such policies, many Cree people lack continuity and opportunity in relation to access to land, ancestral knowledge funds, and language transmission or transfer. This lack of continuity and opportunity is a problem because it disconnects Cree people from the critical things we need in terms of our cultural continuity, which is key to our health and wellness. Using narrative inquiry with a blending of Indigenous methodology, I investigate how, through language reclamation, it is possible to find “home.”