Technology could help reinvigorate Cree language

Wikipedia translations would offer some real-world practice

The effects of Canadian residential schools and government-sanctioned assimilation still threaten Cree culture today. We can help defy these residual consequences by preserving one of their most significant cultural cornerstones: the Cree language.

Right now, it is in decline.

Only 24.1 per cent of Indigenous peoples speak in their native language on a regular basis, and 82.2 per cent of them mostly speak it at home.

However, Aboriginal groups can use technology to help buck this trend by writing and translating articles on online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia. Consequently, Indigenous groups will have many more reasons to use their language on a day-to-day basis and can upload cultural information without it falling prey to appropriation.

Technology also presents opportunities for allies, who can help by collaborating with Indigenous groups to create popular media that accurately reflects their culture.

The biggest online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is the fifth most popular website in the world, offering extensive information on every subject. Remarkably, every entry on Wikipedia is written by the site’s users, including translations into different languages. This functionality provides a massive opportunity for preserving the Cree language in a culturally relevant way.

If Wikipedia articles are translated en masse into Cree, Cree individuals will have many opportunities to practise their language, whether they are conducting research, scouring for pop-culture trivia, or seeking information on virtually any subject.

However, publishing information about Cree culture online incurs some potential risks.

While most Indigenous groups don’t wish to isolate themselves from the world, many are reluctant to upload cultural information on the internet because many of their customs and traditions involve rites of passage. In these cases, the individual has to earn specific stories and rituals. Having such sacred information readily available for the world to see runs the risk of having outsiders romanticize Indigenous culture by appropriating the sanctity of old traditions.

However, by writing Wikipedia articles in Cree, Aboriginal peoples can use their language to protect privileged content from those who may strip it of its significance. Furthermore, Indigenous authorship can ensure the content about their culture and beliefs is reliable and accurate. Consequently, Aboriginal peoples will control the distribution of their knowledge by regulating cultural information.

So how can allies help sustain the Cree culture and language?

One possible method is to collaborate with Aboriginal groups to create media. Including the Cree language in contemporary media can bring awareness and connect communities; however, consulting Indigenous groups can mitigate the risk of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation by ensuring that the information is accurate and appropriate.

For example, the game developer, Upper One Games, worked with over 40 Alaska Indigenous storytellers and elders on the game, Never Alone, or Kisima Ingitchuna in Iñupiat. Not only is Never Alone critically acclaimed, but it has brought media attention to Indigenous collaboration in video games and Iñupiat traditions.

Technology presents many potential opportunities to sustain Cree culture. If Cree peoples publish articles and translations to online encyclopedias like Wikipedia in their native tongue, it could help reverse the language’s decline by providing more opportunities to use it.

Additionally, younger generations can learn about their language and culture without sacred information ending up in the wrong hands. By collaborating with Indigenous peoples, allies can have a significant impact using media that spreads accurate cultural knowledge. Ultimately, through collaboration and expression on Wikipedia and modern media, the Cree culture can be preserved, reinvigorated, and reinvented.

Alistair Ness is a First Nations student from the University of Alberta who has a passion for the Cree language. Riley Witiw is a communications student at MacEwan University. Karly Broadstock is a communications student at MacEwan University. Austin Mardon is an Order of Canada laureate and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has had schizophrenia since 1992.