Description:
A hands-on guide for parents and caregivers to develop best practices in revitalizing and teaching Cree to young children.
In nēhiyawētān kīkināhk / Speaking Cree in the Home, Belinda Daniels and Andrea Custer provide an introductory text to help families immerse themselves, their children, and their homes in nēhiyawēwin--the Cree language. Despite the colonial attacks on Cree culture, language, and peoples, Custer and Daniels remind readers that the traditional ways of knowing and transferring knowledge to younger generations have not been lost and can be revived in the home, around the table, every day. nēhiyawētān kīkināhk / Speaking Cree in the Home is an approachable, hands-on manual that helps to re-forge connections between identity, language, family, and community--by centering Indigenous knowledge and providing Cree learners and speakers with a practical guide to begin their own journey of reclaiming and revitalizing Cree in the home. Readers are guided through methods for language learning, the basics of reading Cree and Standard Roman Orthography, pronunciation of vowels, engaging language-learning games, and examples of high-frequency words and phrases that can easily be incorporated into daily routines and taught to children young and old.Brief description:
Andrea Custer is Woodland Cree and a fluent Cree speaker who grew up in wapâwikoscikanihk, also known as Pelican Narrows. She has a BA in Indigenous Studies from First Nations University, a secondary level BEd teaching degree from the University of Alberta, and a MEd from the University of Saskatchewan in Indigenous Land-Based Education. Andrea currently works at First Nations University as a Cree language lecturer.