nēhiyawēwin: paskwāwi-pīkiskwēwin (Cree: Language of the Plains)by Jean L. OkimāsisPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Marlin Legare$34.95 ISBN 9780889777675 Contrary to mainstream and colonial belief, Indigenous languages are not dying tongues. The rate of resurgence of Indigenous languages to the academic and literary realms are unprecedented and their continued existence and usage despite repeated attempts towards their destruction is a testament to the resiliency of Indigenous languages and those who practice them. This resiliency and dedication to Traditional languages is no better exemplified than in nēhiyawēwin: paskwāwi-pīkiskwēwin (Cree: Language of the Plains). This instructional piece of literature published by University of Regina Press was written by Jean L. Okimāsis, a retired Cree language teacher originally from White Bear First Nation who still actively works in the production of Cree resources for the First Nations University of Canada and other organizations. Reading this, it was clear to me that Okimāsis has a decorated background as an educator as it read incredibly structured to me. If one were to surround a class around the contents of this book, it would be a simple task to separate classes based on chapters or even segments of chapters. The book begins with an introduction…

nipê wânîn: my way back by Mika Lafond Published by Thistledown Press Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $20.00 ISBN 978-1-77187-129-7 In her first poetry collection, nipê wânîn: my way back, Saskatoon writer and U of S educator Mika Lafond pays homage to her Cree heritage, the landscape that nurtured her as a child, and various family members-with particular gratitude expressed for grandmothers and great grandmothers-in heartfelt and easy-to-read poems presented in both English and Cree. As the book’s title suggests, the poems tell a story of a woman’s “way back” to the lessons her ancestors taught to her in their quiet ways. Lafond writes: “Words are spoken in hushed voices/their sacredness not to be shouted.” Lafond’s a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, and, with a strong interest in education and the arts, Lafond and her cousin (Joi Arcand) initiated Kimiwan Zine as a venue for Indigenous visual artists and writers. A few of the poems in this book hint at some of the heart-breaking situations she’s faced as a teacher and the difficult business of “[getting] through the walls” adolescent male students sometimes put up. One student is “always tired on cheque day” and though “winter is definitely here…

“Cree: Words” / “nēhiýawēwin: itwēwina Compiled by Arok Wolvengrey Published by Canadian Plains Research Center Reviewed by Chris Ewing-Weisz $49.95 ISBN 978-0-88977-127-7 Words tell how people see the world. Not just by the things they’re used to say: words themselves, their history, the way they’re formed, the rules governing their use, speak volumes about the culture in which they originate. That’s one of the things that makes Arok Wolvengrey’s Cree: Words so worthwhile. Its two volumes document the Cree language (primarily Plains Cree) as used by fluent speakers across Western Canada. Although its main function, as a bilingual dictionary, is to help speakers of English and Cree find the right word in each other’s language, it also provides a window into the strikingly different cultural assumptions that first met on this continent several hundred years ago. The idea that the world is a web of relationships is embedded in every word a Cree speaker utters. To choose the right word you must think about whether your subject is animate (alive) or not. Some words, like those for family members, do not stand alone, but must be described in relation to someone else. You also have to consider whether the object…