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Mississauga Nation Strives To Create A Language "renaissance"
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 Coolness: 86505 | [ www.thespec.com ]
Mississaugas of New Credit striving to create a language ‘renaissance’ Clynt King has witnessed a “renaissance” in his community. Growing up in the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation reserve, he was never taught the Anishinaabemowin language in school and now, a 46-year-old, he only knows a few words. In fact, there was a point when the community in the Hagersville did not have a member who could speak the original language fluently. So, about 40 years ago, the New Credit leaders decided to actively bring in people from other communities who spoke Anishinaabemowin to teach them and started offering language classes at school. Today, King’s six sons and daughter know more words in the language than he does. “It was almost like a renaissance. We understood the importance of it as the language was lost,” said King, who is a councillor. Now that he’s older, he understands the weight of its cultural significance, he said. “At the time I was like: ‘This is good, I can learn a few words.’ But as I get older, I can see the importance, especially when we need to understand who we are. Language is very important for that.” King and his children are planning to attend an upcoming language camp that is free for all ages in the community to come and learn their mother tongue. The third annual New Credit Anishinaabemowin Language Immersion Camp is being held on May 27 and 28 at the Lloyd S. King School on New Credit Road. On Saturday, artists gathered at the school to raise money for the free camp. About 50 people attended the three-hour event, which featured traditional and contemporary performances by more than a dozen musicians, dancers and rappers. The Mississaugas of New Credit have about 1,788 registered members and more than 800 on the reserve. Over the past four decades, they have worked on re-establishing their language in schools and in everyday use, language camp coordinator Dan Secord said. “We don’t want to hold our children back. We want to increase, as parents, our fluency so we can use it in our everyday life. Because that’s our first tongue. English and French are our second language,” Secord said. At Lloyd S. King School, for example, the Anishinaabe language is taught in second-language classes instead of French, said senior kindergarten teacher Catherine Shawana. “Unfortunately, a lot of our parents or immediate relatives don’t necessarily speak the language anymore, so we need to bring people in from other communities,” she said. The 35-year-old plans to bring her two sons, 5 and 8, to attend the camp with her in May. “I think in order for your children to really appreciate who they are, it’s something they need to learn and be proud of,” she said. dawong@thespec.com 905-526-2468 |
Mississauga Nation Strives To Create A Language "renaissance"
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