Language
Cree Michif Memories of
Métis Nation BC
President Bruce Dumont
Aen Michif niya!
Ki neyhiwan chee [do you speak Cree]?
Ki'Peekishewin awn Cree / Michif [do you speak Michif] [that mixed Cree/French]
Kischee tey mo'yaan aen li Michif wi'yaan [I am Proud to be Métis]
I want to recall my childhood being born and raised apeetha'kosian. We were only known of calling ourselves half-breeds. The term Métis was seldom used.
Both parents were of Métis ancestry. My father and Grandparents were Cree/French and my Mother and Grandparents were Cree/Scot. All the parents and grandparents spoke fluent Cree. English was a second language to all of them and some only spoke Cree. My grandparents were born in the 1880's and parents in 1917.
In 1937 my parents Ambrose Dumont and Marie Vaness were married in St. Paul de Métis, Alberta. They always lived in Cree speaking communities moving to Beaver River, South of Lac La Biche, Alberta. Now known as the Kikino Settlement. Cree and Michif are widely spoken in this region.
My grandparents on my father's side were from the Victoria Settlement, Alberta as trappers. The grandparents on my mother's side were from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan. Working as Chief Factor and interpreters for the Federal Government. They all knew how to live off the land with traditional foods and medicines.
They moved to central Alberta from Kikino in September 1942 to Sundre, Alberta with four other Métis families in a three ton truck with stock racks. We were the first Métis families to arrive in a town primarily populated by Norwegians. We squatted on the south road between the river and the road so in essence we were road allowance Métis.
I was born in 1944 starting school in 1950 and my four older siblings all started school in 1948. I was denied my language because we were not allowed to learn or speak it in school although we spoke it at home. We had to learn the English language.
My parents always feared of their children being taken by the Government to the Residential School as many of their nieces and nephews were taken. Thanks to them we stayed home but some of our cousins went to Residential School.
After the Resistance of 1885 Métis people were afraid to identify with their native ancestry for fear of reprisal. Work was non existent being a Métis.
The Cree language wasn't spoken in public being afraid someone would hear and report you to authorities and lose your children.
We survived and today we are hungry to speak our ancestors tongue.
We walk proud and are persistent to meet any challenge.
We must not let our language die!
The responsibility lies with us to maintain and learn to speak Cree / Michif in any of the dialects and pass it on to our children's, children.
Our youth learn easier than some of us so our teachings will be their teaching!