ōma askiy, ōma askiy,
nanātohk kīkwaya ēkota ē-kikiskikātēki;
sīpiya kā-mihkohcikātēki, kā-misohcik ahcahkwak ohci,
osēwēsimowak ka-kanātāpāwatāwak.
ōma askiy, ōma askiy,
ēkota ē-kikiskikātēki nanātohk kīkwaya.
ᐆᒪ ᐊᐢᑭᐩ, ᐆᒪ ᐊᐢᑭᐩ,
ᓇᓈᑐᕽ ᑮᑿᔭ ᐁᑯᑕ ᐁ ᑭᑭᐢᑭᑳᑌᑭ,
ᓰᐱᔭ ᑳ ᒥᐦᑯᐦᒋᑳᑌᑭ, ᑳ ᒥᓱᐦᒋᐠ ᐊᐦᒐᐦᑿᐠ ᐅᐦᒋ,
ᐅᓭᐍᓯᒧᐘᐠ ᑲ ᑲᓈᑖᐹᐘᑖᐘᐠ᙮
ᐆᒪ ᐊᐢᑭᐩ, ᐆᒪ ᐊᐢᑭᐩ,
ᐁᑯᑕ ᐁ ᑭᑭᐢᑭᑳᑌᑭ ᓇᓈᑐᕽ ᑮᑿᔭ᙮
This land, this land,
It carries many things.
Rivers red with wounded souls,
Jingle dancers wash it clean.
This land, this land,
It carries many things.
Edmonton singer/songwriter Asiah Holm writes on FaceBook that her song “ōma askiy” is to be the first single on her upcoming album, “a love letter to the land, an acknowledgement of all it’s been through, and the healing it so desperately needs.” She felt compelled to release it early in response to the devastating wildfires that have swept Los Angeles this month. Arok Wolvengrey and Jean Okimāsis worked together to prepare the translation into Plains Cree of the chorus of this song. Listen also for excerpts from Arok’s pronunciation track incorporated into the texture of the production. Following are Arok’s notes notes on the translation:
ōma askiy = “this (inanimate) land”
nanātohk kīkwaya = “various things, all kinds of things”
ēkota = “there” (in reference to this land)
ē-kikiskikātēki = “(they) are imbued within”;
(kikisk- is usually translated as “wear s.t.”, but can also refer to “having s.t. as an integral part of oneself”, and that is what is intended here.)
sīpiya = “rivers”
kā-mihkohcikātēki = “which are made red”
kā-misohcik ahcahkwak ohci = “from souls which are wounded”
osēwēsimowak = “jingle (dress) dancers”
ka-kanātāpāwatāwak = “they are washing (it) with water”
(ka- in this usage represents “ongoing” reduplication, not future tense)
Note, also, that lines 2 and 6 are slightly reordered in keeping with a common feature of fluent oratory, which H.C. Wolfart has termed “chiastic reversal”. In this case, it has to do with the typical placement of focussed, contrasted or particularly topical elements towards the beginning of Cree clauses.
