Solomon Ratt’s most recent project presents Wîsahkîcâhk stories in printable booklets for readalong, complete with illustrations by Ailah Carpenter, his granddaughter. The multi-generational project was featured recently in a CBC news story by Louise BigEagle (video edition of the same piece is embedded below). This in turn inspired Sol to quote some Orwell (in Cree!) which we can also share here as yet another readalong. This. This is how reclamation is led.
ayamihâwi-kiskinwahamâtowikamikwa kî-kakwî-mîscihtâw kâ-isi-nisitawîthimisoyâhk: tânisi kâ-kî-pî-isi-pimâcihoyahk ôtî nâway, ikwa tânisi kâ-kî-pî-isîhcikîyahk, ôtî nâway; nîso iyakoni î-kî-nistohtamâhk ispî mâna kâ-kî-âcathôhkâkoyahkwâw kinîkihikonawak kâ-pipohk; kâ-pipohk ispî mâna ohpimî kâ-kî-kiskinwahamâkosiyahk, nîtî ayamihâwi-kiskinawhamâtowikamikohk, namwâc awasimî kikî-pîhtînaw âcathôhkîwina athisk ohpî kîkinânâhk ohci î-kî-ayâyahk, kika-kî-itwânaw, kipîkiskwîwininawa mîna î-kî-kakwî-mîscihtâcik ayamihâwi-kiskinwahamâtowikamikohk, athisk î-kî-nîhithawi-âcathôhkâniwak mâna kayâs. ikota ohci âcathôhkîwinihk kâ-kî-nisitohtamahk itî kâ-pî-ohci-pimâcihoyâhk, ôtî nâway; ikwa ita kâ-isi-pimâcihoyahk mîkwâc, ikwa mîna ka-wî-ati-pimâcihoyahk ôtî nîkân.
George Orwell kî-masinaham, masinahikan 1984 î-isithihkâtîk, “ana kâ-tipîthihtahk nâway, tipîthihtam mîkwâc. ana kâ-tipîthihtahk mîkwâc, tipîthihtam nâway.
mîkwâc ôma, mîkwâc anohc ikwa kita-tipîthihtamâhk kipîkiskwîwininawa; kita-tipîthihtamâhk kitâcathôhkîwininawa, ita kâ-astîk kipimâcihowininaw ôtî nâway, ôta mîkwâc, ikwa ôtî nîkân.
The residential school system effectively blocked indigenous access to their histories and cultures because both, history and culture, are passed on to the next generation through our stories. Traditional stories were told in the winter months, the time we were at residential schools, so we no longer heard those stories as part of our education on who we were, who we are, and who we are to become. Those stories were handed down to us through our indigenous languages so the residential schools also murdered our languages.
George Orwell (in 1984) wrote “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” The time is now, now is the time to reclaim our languages; now is the time to reclaim our stories, and our languages, wherein lies our past, our present, and our future.
cîst, nitohtamok:
piyakwâw wîsahkîcâhk kî-papimohtîw…
