Manitoba professor aims to preserve Indigenous language
A University of Manitoba professor is working to keep Indigenous languages alive in the province.
Ken Paupanekis, a Cree language instructor, teaches a course about the language at the university.
“It’s overlooked so often,” he said. “When Europeans first arrived, the Native languages had a major role in the communication aspect. When you have two languages that meet, one always dominates the other, and the Native languages dominated for the first century or so.”
English and French eventually supplanted Indigenous languages, and the residential school system in Canada worked to strip Indigenous languages from young speakers. Paupanekis said when he was a child, he was punished by some teachers for speaking Cree at a day school he attended.
March 31 marks National Indigenous Languages Day, which is aimed at bringing awareness and preservation of Indigenous languages before they’re lost forever.
Paupanekis said in recent years, there has been great interest in his Cree language course.
“Many people didn’t realize that they had Indigenous ancestry, or if they did, they suppressed it,” he said. “Now, there is a lot of pride in their ancestry.
“I’ve had a few students come and tell me that they found out their granny was Cree, and they’re ashamed they didn’t know, and now they want to go learn about that part of their family.”
Indigenous Languages of Manitoba Inc. is planning several events and initiatives through the year to promote Indigenous languages, including a billboard campaign, immersion camps and fundraising for an Indigenous Language centre in the province.
-With files from CTV News' Katherine Dow
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.