Pilot connects youngsters to Métis’ Michif language
REGINA Growing up, Jeannine Whitehouse did not give much thought to the fact she could not speak fluent Michif like her mother did.
It was only as an adult that she began to understand the loss of the Métis language and felt that a piece of her was missing because she could not speak the language of her culture.
“I truly believe that when we hear our Indigenous language, be it Michif or be it Cree, that there’s something special that’s ignited within our spirits,” said Whitehouse. “We’re innately connected to that language and it’s embedded within everything we do in our culture, and so the Michif language is not just a language, but it’s a way that we’re transmitting bits and pieces of our culture.”
As the First Nations, Métis and Inuit education coordinator for the
Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD), Whitehouse was “over the moon” when Metis Nation-saskatchewan (MN-S) reached out to a number of Saskatchewan school divisions looking for partners for a new Michif program.
RCSD agreed to the two-year partnership, which will see the Michif Early Learning Pilot Project (MELPP) start at Regina’s Sacred Heart Community School this fall.
MELPP is a language immersion program for preschool and kindergarten students, designed to connect young children with their culture and language with the help of Métis teachers and language keepers.
The project is part of a broader collaboration between MN-S and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society to revitalize Michif in Saskatchewan.
Regina Public Schools, Saskatoon Public Schools, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and Ile-ala Crosse School Division also said yes to the partnership and will be running the program at Mcdermid Community School, Westmount Community School, St Michael Community School and Rossignol Elementary School respectively.
How the program runs will look different at each school, depending on local needs. Some divisions are operating just a kindergarten class and others both kindergarten and preschool classes. Some are running half days and others full days.
Michif is considered an endangered language. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, only 1,170 people in Canada spoke the language well enough to have a conversation.
Lisa Fleming, director of early learning and childcare and child and family services for MN-S, said the majority of Michif speakers are over the age of 65.
“Unless we do something now, we will lose this language in a very short period of time, and so we are working with those language keepers ... as part of the pilot project,” Fleming said, adding that MN-S is hoping to double the number of Michif speakers in the province in the next five years through this and other initiatives.
Bruce Flamont, president of the Michif Speakers Association, will be one of the language keepers working with Saskatoon Public on the project. He said he grew up speaking Michif and in the past decade has taught the language to many people. This time, he is excited to pass on the language to young children.
“That’s where the effort needs to be done, is children at that age,” he said. “Once you pass that age, it becomes a little bit more difficult to acquire a different language.”
But Flamont does not want to see the language learning stop there. He hopes to one day see students in the division be able to speak Michif at school right from kindergarten to Grade 12.
“This is a very small step toward that, but it’s an important one.”
Lyla Phillips will be teaching the preschool class for Saskatoon Public this fall and said the program is focused on oral language skills, and then through the Michif language kids will also learn about Métis culture and traditions. The regular exploratory learning children would normally get in preschool is also included, but “through a Michif lens,” she said.
Chandi Marshall, the Métis/ Michif cultural teacher for Saskatoon Public, emphasized the program’s deep connection to the local Métis community. She is already planning to send her son next year when he is old enough.
“I’m very, very excited. It means my child will have an opportunity that I was not given, so he will be able to learn from Auntie Lyla, Mooshum Bruce,” Marshall said.
“To me as a parent, this is everything.”