Page 13 - Walking_The_Red_Road

school. I knew it was going to be different here.
I guess the movies I’d seen about high school made me think I should prepare myself not to be on the nerd side.
When I first got here, I met a native kid from Moose Factory. I thought he looked Cree so I started talking to him in Cree and he just looked at me. I was pretty shocked. He was Cree, but he didn’t speak the language. I told my mom about it. Then I met other natives around town, and each one said, “I’m from here” and “I’m from there” and I said, “Do you speak your languages?” And they said, “No.” They looked kind of ashamed.
I was really shocked and I started talking to my mom about it. She said that residential school
is one of the biggest reasons why so many of
our people have lost their languages. And I said, “Oh, yeah? My people didn’t lose their language because they were strong to keep it.” We were so far up north that the residential school teachers and the company didn’t want to come up there because it was too cold and it cost too much money, so they mostly left us alone up there. Still, I’m afraid to lose my language. Most native people don’t have their language anymore.
My dad was in residential school and he wasn’t allowed to speak Cree to his brothers, sisters,
or friends. If he did, he would have gotten slapped. As soon as he came back, he still had his language but it wasn’t as strong as it was. So he went back into the bush to learn it again, learn about his traditions, hunting skills.
Every time when I am hunting or walking home in a big blizzard, I think about my dad and how much pain he went through. He’s still got his language and his hunting skills, and I think to myself, “If he can do it, I can do it.” My dad is my role model.
I have friends from Moose Factory who don’t know their language. Our Cree is similar and one of my friends wants to learn the Cree that we speak. The Ojibways from this territory ask me about how we say certain things. And they say, “Oh, we say it like that too.” That’s one of my favourite parts about being here. We are learning words in each other’s languages. I’m starting to understand their conversations. One day I would
like to learn another native language.
I really love it here in North Bay and I love back home. But there are bad influences back home, problems with drugs and alcohol.
Here in North Bay, I go to ceremonies. I’m a powwow dancer. Pow wow dancing for me is a passion. I do it everywhere. Powwows are like sports mixed with ceremony and celebration. Everything is so beautiful about powwows. Powwows are important to me. You meet so many friends, people.
I love the school that I go to here. It is a very special school—a native reserve school. It is similar to my reserve. The school has the traditions and ceremonies so I am more connected to my culture.
I got asked to be the head dancer for the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre’s powwow coming up in June. I have friends back home that are traditional and into culture and they never thought that someone like me would be head dancer in a powwow. I didn’t expect to be asked, but it is something I knew I would do one day. I’m involved with the Friendship Centre a lot. I attend programs and my brother and I have brought a lot of kids here to join the programs. I don’t work here, but I would love to.
I’m in grade 12 and will be finishing up next year. I don’t even want to leave my school because
it is so awesome. I want to be a fire fighter—a forest fire fighter and go all over the world. It would be one of the biggest, scariest challenges. I like adventures and I like the tools and gadgets they use. After that, I want to be a Cree language teacher. I’d like to teach teenagers.
I’d like to bring powwow dancing back to my community. I want to help my community get started going on the good road. I also want to go back home and learn more about my language.
I still need to learn some words that the Elders use. I want to bring them back into use so that our language can be even stronger. I want to bring Cree to the Cree people here in North Bay. Our language is very strong and that made our people proud. I feel a responsibility to help keep our language strong.
I am very proud that I can speak Cree.
Walking the Red Road | REPORT OF THE URBAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES THRIVE PROJECT | 13