ispî kâ-kî-ayamihcikiyân nikî-nihtâ-atoskâtîn nikiskinwahmâkîw-atotamâkawin. ikwa mâna kâwi kâ-mîthikawiyân nitatoskîwin mihcîtwâw mâna nikiskinwahamâkîmak nikî-itikwak. î-âkathâsîmocik: “Excellent work, Solomon! You are a true credit to your race.” nikî-mithohtîn mâna iyako. mâka ispî kâ-ati-kîsohpikiyân nikî-nisitawinîn iyako nawac poko î-nihtatawihikawiyân … ikwa mîna kâ-ati-kîsi-ohpikiyân, ispî kâ-wâpamak ithiniw î-kaskihtamâsot kîkway kâ-sôhkanithik, mâna nikî-itwân: “Not bad for an Indian!”
ᐃᐢᐲ ᑳ ᑮ ᐊᔭᒥᐦᒋᑭᔮᐣ ᓂᑮ ᓂᐦᑖ ᐊᑐᐢᑳᑏᐣ ᓂᑭᐢᑭᓌᐦᒫᑮᐘᑐᑕᒫᑲᐏᐣ᙮ ᐃᑿ ᒫᓇ ᑳᐏ ᑳ ᒦᖨᑲᐏᔮᐣ ᓂᑕᑐᐢᑮᐏᐣ ᒥᐦᒌᑤᐤ ᒫᓇ ᓂᑭᐢᑭᓌᐦᐊᒫᑮᒪᐠ ᓂᑮ ᐃᑎᑿᐠ᙮ ᐄ ᐋᑲᖭᓰᒧᒋᐠ: “Excellent work, Solomon! You are a true credit to your race.” ᓂᑮ ᒥᖪᐦᑏᐣ ᒫᓇ ᐃᔭᑯ᙮ ᒫᑲ ᐃᐢᐲ ᑳ ᐊᑎ ᑮᓱᐦᐱᑭᔮᐣ ᓂᑮ ᓂᓯᑕᐏᓃᐣ ᐃᔭᑯ ᓇᐘᐨ ᐳᑯ ᐄ ᓂᐦᑕᑕᐏᐦᐃᑲᐏᔮᐣ … ᐃᑿ ᒦᓇ ᑳ ᐊᑎ ᑮᓯ ᐅᐦᐱᑭᔮᐣ, ᐃᐢᐲ ᑳ ᐚᐸᒪᐠ ᐃᖨᓂᐤ ᐄ ᑲᐢᑭᐦᑕᒫᓱᐟ ᑮᑿᐩ ᑳ ᓲᐦᑲᓂᖨᐠ, ᒫᓇ ᓂᑮ ᐃᑤᐣ: “Not bad for an Indian!”
When I was in school I was good at working on my homework. And when I got my work back my teachers would say, in English: ‘Excellent work, Solomon. You are a true credit to your race!’ I used to like hearing that. It was not until I became an adult that I came to understand that the phrase was in effect putting me down. And when I became an adult, when I saw a First Nations person being successful at something difficult, I would say: ‘Not bad for an Indian.’
