DEPARTMENT NEWS
Orange Shirt Day:
Creative Use of Cree Engages Learners
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By Lynn McDowell and Myken McDowell
range Shirt Day* has special meaning on reserves. It’s not usually a happy celebration; so many who suffered abuse in residential schools would rather forget the humiliation and pain that speaking Cree or any other First Nations language would incur. Only recently have many of the descendants of these survivors discovered that their grandparents suffered, so especially on that day, MANS teachers try to fill in some of the history gaps and go above and beyond their usual day-today incorporation of Cree language and culture. This fall, as Grade 5 teacher Suzann Self thought about Orange Shirt Day, she got an idea that’s become part of every day. This fall, after reading I Am Not a Number, a short book,
with her class, Suzann proposed an experiment: the class would simulate the banning experience on a small scale for an extended time. Few of Suzann’s students spoke any Cree; what if they banned two English words a week and “forced” everyone to use the Cree words? The students were enthusiastic, and Suzann began researching Cree words to substitute. It was the beginning of rewarding journey. Suzann discovered perspectives on the world she’d not realized until she investigated the Cree language. “The language has so much depth,” says Suzann. “In Cree, the word for ‘child’ translates as ‘On loan from the Creator.’ Isn’t that beautiful? And so meaningful!”
Visible support—Teachers sport orange shirts on September 30 (Suzann Self, second from right, front row).
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Alberta Adventist News
DECEMBER 2020
