It’s been nearly three years since I got my first dog ever, and it’s still an adventure. She was born in Nunavut, so we can’t really call her a “Rez Dog”. She’s definitely a close Inuit cousin. A blue-eyed husky cross, from a proud line of sneaky neighbours’ dogs. Her name is Esker – like a pile of gravel pushed by a glacier.
I seldom take her walking because Esker prefers to run beside the truck, 5-7 kilometers a day. But yesterday I took her out in the green space behind our Winnipeg yard (or maybe she took me). It is essentially a green, grassy highway where lucky city dogs often go off-leash. One of these lucky dogs is Jake from Pimicikimâk, who evidently visits almost every day. (One of these lucky dogs could also be Esker, if she would simply come when called, but that’s a different story).
I nearly fell over when Jake’s parents called out to him: “âstam!” I had just met a dog who speaks Cree.
We introduced Jake and Esker (dog names, as dog owners do). And Jake’s parents confirmed that he knows all his commands in Cree. (We’re still not sure what language Esker understands: they say stubborness is a husky trait.)
I’m writing all of this to explain what an unexpected delight it was to meet Cree speakers (including Jake) in such an unexpected way, and virtually in my own back yard! One parent is a student of Ida Bear at UofW. And both even knew this website.
So this post is for them, and for all the Manitoba speakers and students who might enjoy the YouTube collection assembled about five years ago by NCI’s Dave McLeod, as he digitized some of the beautiful video work created by NCI in its television days. I’m hoping that if I can stumble into Jake and his parents so unexpectedly, perhaps they might find it here. (The parents, that is.)
There is a whole series labelled “Kayas Achimowina” (kayâs âcimowina), and another called “Kehte Hiyak” (kêhtê-ayak). I hope that some of these might eventually be transcribed in Cree to help support the development of Manitoba language tools for contemporary learners.
This link is to the NCI channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NCI-FM
Here – as an example – is a wîhtiko story from Pimicikimâk (Cross Lake) featuring two Elders who are no longer with us. This collection should be widely treasured!
2 Responses
These stories about the wihtiko are interesting. Can you share how people would turn into wihtikowahk? My parents told me even babies would turn into wihtikowahk. One elder told me it would have been a curse put in a person.
Wihtiko stories are fascinating, but I’m not equipped to tell you more than you might hear in stories, but you will find a few more – and references to at least one other – on this page if you search for “wihtiko”.