Senapan Thunder’s video lesson on using a new keyboard tool offers several layers of teaching at once.
First, she introduces the Keyman-based keyboard tool developed by our mutual friend and colleague Kevin Waddell, that makes it easier to type length marks in “Cree Latin” (a.k.a SRO). Then she demonstrates how to set it up for ourselves.
But her video is also embedded with three bonus lessons:
- Her live narrative is a master class in fully fluent 21st-century Cree, outlining a detailed technical process. I don’t know of any other examples that show us the Cree language from this point of view. mâmaskâc! It’s a joy simply to listen.
- She gives a realtime example of the power of âhkamêyimowin: earnest effort and perseverance. A lot of teaching videos edit out the part where things don’t go exactly as expected (ask me how I know). Too often, this leaves us alone in frustration at our first misstep. Yet here, as Senapan calmly persists, trouble shooting to find what she intends, and encourages us to do the same. Once again, all in Cree!
- By giving us a chance to figuratively look over her shoulder while she works, she opens the door to a few additional really useful tools. (But first the video):
Keyman is a tool that has been around for many years, allowing developers to contribute tools for many languages. Watching Senapan’s video, I spotted some additional keyboards for Cree that you can install following the same basic instructions (substituting these names). These ones are the work of another longtime friend and colleague, Bill Jancewicz.
For th-dialect syllabics, search for “Western Cree (TH-Woods)”
https://keyman.com/keyboards/bj_cree_woods
For n-dialect and y-dialect syllabics, search for “Swampy Cree (Tataskweyak)”
https://keyman.com/keyboards/bj_mista_wasaha_cree
For an alternative tool for typing length marks in SRO, search for “SRO (west)”
https://keyman.com/keyboards/bj_cree_west_latn
Find more of Senapan’s work at:
https://www.wicihsok.com/
And on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@wicihsok
