mâmitonîthihta î-kanawâpahtaman kotowân î-ati-âstawîk. kitati-pônîn kîhtwâm ta-kwahkotîk. ikota ohci kitati-pôtâtîn iskocîsa, âskaw kinwîsîs mâka îkâ pakicîyani kîhtwâm ta-kwahkotîw kikotawân.
ikos-îsi itîthihta ôma kâ-pasikônamahk kipimâcihowininaw:
kipôninaw mihta – kipîkiskwîwininawa kiskinwahamâkîwininawa, kapîsîwinihk ita kâ-kiskiskinwahamâkîyahk kipimâcihowininawa, kimasinahikîwininawa, ikwa kitâcathôhkîwininawa; ikwa kipôtâtînaw kipîkiskwîwininawa ohci kîhtwâm ta-ohpikihki.
ᒫᒥᑐᓃᖨᐦᑕ ᐄ ᑲᓇᐚᐸᐦᑕᒪᐣ ᑯᑐᐚᐣ ᐄ ᐊᑎ ᐋᐢᑕᐑᐠ᙮ ᑭᑕᑎ ᐴᓃᐣ ᑮᐦᑤᒼ ᑕ ᑿᐦᑯᑏᐠ᙮ ᐃᑯᑕ ᐅᐦᒋ ᑭᑕᑎ ᐴᑖᑏᐣ ᐃᐢᑯᒌᓴ, ᐋᐢᑲᐤ ᑭᐣᐑᓰᐢ ᒫᑲ ᐄᑳ ᐸᑭᒌᔭᓂ ᑮᐦᑤᒼ ᑕ ᑿᐦᑯᑏᐤ ᑭᑯᑕᐚᐣ᙮
ᐃᑯᓰᓯ ᐃᑏᖨᐦᑕ ᐆᒪ ᑳ ᐸᓯᑰᓇᒪᕽ ᑭᐱᒫᒋᐦᐅᐏᓂᓇᐤ:
ᑭᐴᓂᓇᐤ ᒥᐦᑕ – ᑭᐲᑭᐢᑹᐏᓂᓇᐘ ᑭᐢᑭᓌᐦᐊᒫᑮᐏᓂᓇᐘ, ᑲᐲᓰᐏᓂᕽ ᐃᑕ ᑳ ᑭᐢᑭᐢᑭᓌᐦᐊᒫᑮᔭᕽ ᑭᐱᒫᒋᐦᐅᐏᓂᓇᐘ, ᑭᒪᓯᓇᐦᐃᑮᐏᓂᓇᐘ, ᐃᑿ ᑭᑖᒐᖫᐦᑮᐏᓂᓇᐘ; ᐃᑿ ᑭᐴᑖᑏᓇᐤ ᑭᐲᑭᐢᑹᐏᓂᓇᐘ ᐅᐦᒋ ᑮᐦᑤᒼ ᑕ ᐅᐦᐱᑭᐦᑭ᙮
Think of watching a dying campfire. You put more firewood in to build it up again. From there you blow on the embers, sometimes it takes a while but if you don’t give up the campfire eventually flares up again.
Think that way about our indigenous livelihood:
The firewood – our teaching of our languages, holding culture camps, writing in our languages, telling our traditional stories;
We blow on them with our languages for them to grow again.
- Thanks to Wendy MacGregor – one of Sol’s many hiking partners – for use of her photo.
