Nelliane Cromarty currently serves as a Grandparent for the Manitoba Aboriginal Language Strategy (MALS) representing the Anisinineemowin language group. She is thankful to have  retained her language in spite of her residential school experience and has spent her whole life dedicated to teaching and sharing her mother tongue, Anisinineemowin. Nelliane was born on a trapline at Island Lake, Manitoba. She began in 1969 as a teaching assistant…

Dave Swanson was born in Norway House, Manitoba and is a fluent Ininímowin (Cree) speaker. As a teacher, he has taught Ininímowin in schools and uses the language to promote its use to the youth. Dave desires to see young people learning the language, as it gives rise to an appreciation for the ancestor’s way…

Glenn Tssessaze was born in La Ronge, Saskatchewan but raised in the Denesuline communities of Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan and La Brochet, Manitoba. Glenn’s first language is Denesuline, the only language spoken in the household in which he lived. Glenn conversed in Denesuline with other community members until he was a teenager. His mother, who is…

Wilfred Andrew Wood was born at Opa-wah-ka-sihk near the community of Nelson House now known as Nisicawayasihk. Andrew was raised by his uncle and aunt, who taught him the important teachings, culturally rooted guiding principles and customs of his people. They also taught him his Cree language. He enjoyed learning about the value of the…

Starlett (Star) Beardy is from the Pimicikamāk Cree Nation (Cross Lake), located in northern Manitoba, and is a fluent Ininīmōwin (Cree) speaker. Star attributes her fluency to the immersion she was exposed to throughout her life through family, community and language learning. This ignited a passion both for the language and for teaching it. Star learned how to read and write in Ininímowin throughout middle…

Tanya Dawn McDougall is Nelliane Cromarty’s daughter and the granddaughter of Kathleen Mason, the first female councillor in the region. Tanya was born during her mother’s post-secondary training, thus beginning her journey as a lifelong scholar from birth. Tanya speaks Anisinineemowin, although not as fluently as she would like, and she holds two master’s degrees,…