Colleen Charlette kindly agreed to share first-hand observations from WAVES 2025: Global Indigenous Languages Summit. Some of her photos are also shared here, along with others borrowed from Simon Bird. I know Colleen’s are some of the best since they feature so many of our favourite Cree language warriors. Also (and I swear this is true): #CreeSimonSays!
The summit was hosted in Ottawa by the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, August 11–14, 2025. Its aims were to promote, celebrate and champion Indigenous Languages and support Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the globe in reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining and strengthening their languages, all very much in harmony with the objectives of the UN-declared International Decade of Idigenous Languages.
Here is Colleen’s perspective on some of the many things she loved best:
I was fortunate to attend WAVES 2025 in Ottawa last week (August 11-14, 2025). I think it was one of the best conferences I have ever attended. Everything was perfect — from the key note speeches of Governor General Mary Simon and Dr. Lorna Williams, to the Indigenous performers such as Susan Aglukark, Elisapie Isaac, and Tomson Highway. The emcees, the venue, the food, and the wide range of breakout sessions went beyond my expectations. I could not imagine it being any better!
But what meant the most to me was spending time with some of my Cree mentors and making new Cree friends. I did not grow up in a Cree community or with my Cree family, so meeting and spending time with Cree people has meant the world to me. Two in particular – Dr. Charlotte Ross and Simon Bird – were so kind and generous with their time helping me complete my master’s thesis in linguistics in 2022. (I would also like to mention Solomon Ratt, Senapan Thunder and William Cook for their support). I can never thank them enough. I hope they know how grateful I am. I was in awe watching Charlotte up on the main stage sharing her wisdom and speaking so eloquently . Afterwards, I told her that I could listen to her forever.
I was also very happy to make new Cree friends such as Dr. Kevin Lewis, Randy Morin, Jason Chamakese and Alexis McLeod. At their session, Randy Morin and Simon Bird had us eating out of their hands as they told us âcimowina(Cree stories). To me, they were one of the highlights of the conference. I loved listening to them speak Cree and riff off one another. It was hilarious in the best way. Their friend, Dolores Greyeyes Sand (Freda Ahenakew’s daughter) was also amazing to learn from. I never would have imagined singing Elvis Presley’s All Shook Up in Cree. I highly recommend it!
So in all, the conference was inspiring. It made me so happy to be Cree and I promise to get back on my Cree language journey again. That is the least I can do, as our mentors are doing everything they can to share and inspire us to speak nēhiyawēwin or nîhithawin.
kinanâskomitin (thank you)
kîsta mîna, Colleen: ninanâskomonân!
4 Responses
Colleen, thank you for sharing your brilliant review of the conference and making a guy feel special. Going up to people with such admiration and excitement was infectious and that spirit stayed throughout the entire conference. A special thank you to Arden for always documenting special moments on this website. That’s the other primary take away I heard at the conference from Māori key note Peter-Lucas Jones & Dr. Michael Runningwolf, don’t leave your information on platforms as an archive because they can be easily lost and don’t use AI. Having a website such as Creeliteracy.org is absolutely the way to go.
Keep up the great work Arden, kinanāskomitin
Gosh, thanks, Simon! I’m always happy to preserve these memories!
It was my pleasure to write this review. There were so many special moments, it was hard to know which one to pick. I am glad we have you Simon bird a.k.a. Cree Simon, Creeliteracy.org, Arden Ogg and all the other Cree language warriors. We are one lucky community!
What a delightful summary! It was fun to read and to hear such enthusiasm and happiness. It sounds like it as a great conference. And how lovely to see all the photos. Thanks for taking the time to write this.