“All Canadians need to confront the past,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this weekend as he visited La Ronge as part of Truth and Reconciliation Week. He was photographed with a few of our favourite Cree speakers, too, like Simon Bird and Laura Bournouf.
The Honourable Murray Sinclair expressed a similar view of reconciliation with a powerful metaphor that I stumbled on this morning. I asked Solomon Ratt to translate it. Solomon, of course, has climbed many a mountain. Knows a thing or two about metaphor as well.
But before I could ask him to record audio to go with this translation, he prodded me to do some climbing of my own: “Now you do the audio. I have no voice… Show us what’s possible with SRO!”
kiwîhtamâtinân kâ-isinâkwahk waciy.
kiwâpahtahitinân mêskanâs tahkohtâmatin kâ-itamok.
kinitomitinân ta-iskwahtawîyan.
ᑭᐑᐦᑕᒫᑎᓈᐣ ᑳ ᐃᓯᓈᑿᕽ ᐘᒋᐩ᙮
ᑭᐚᐸᐦᑕᐦᐃᑎᓈᐣ ᒣᐢᑲᓈᐢ ᑕᐦᑯᐦᑖᒪᑎᐣ ᑳ ᐃᑕᒧᐠ᙮
ᑭᓂᑐᒥᑎᓈᐣ ᑕ ᐃᐢᑿᐦᑕᐑᔭᐣ᙮
“We have described for you a mountain.
We have shown you the path to the top.
We call upon you to do the climbing.” .
Photo: Solomon Ratt – Banff’s Sulphur Mountain.
