With news yesterday of Cecilia Masuskapoe’s passing at Atahkakoop, we mourn the loss of a dear friend. We wish her good journey, happy reunions, and a well-earned rest from life of hard work that included hand-tanning buffalo hides, right into her 90s (scroll down for photographic proof!)
It was May of 2010 when I had the privilege of taking Freda Ahenakew to visit her old friend Cecilia – also known as kêkêk – at Atahkakoop. We had serious book business to complete. Freda had collected many of Cecilia’s stories over the years, and this was the trip in which Cecilia signed the publishing contract:
piko kîkway ê-nakacihtât : kêkêk otâcimowina ê-nêhiyawastêki.
[There’s Nothing She Can’t Do: Kêkek’s Autobiography Published in Cree.]
mitoni ê-âh-itwêt mâna Cecilia Masuskapoe, itasinahamiyiwa ôhi nîso, H.C. Wolfart êkwa Freda Ahenakew.
[Exactly as told by Cecilia Masuskapoe, in a Critical Edition by H.C. Wolfart and Freda Ahenakew.]
Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, Memoir 21, 2010.
Recorded precisely in Cecilia’s own words, the book was published only in Cree: a genuine reward for speakers who invest the time to learn SRO. The autobiography can now be found in libraries across North America. It is still available for sale (prepayment required) through the Department of Linguistics at the University of Manitoba.
2 Responses
mistahi kitatamihin, Arden. mitoni ki-miyo-wicehtowak wiya ekwa nikawipaninan.
I’m honoured to do her eulogy on Monday at Ahtahkakoop First Nation. I will paste your words as well, ahay hay.