<BR><BR><B><I>CaveTank@aol.com</I></B> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">From: CaveTank@aol.com<BR>Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:03:45 EDT<BR>To: anthropology@listserv.nku.edu<BR>Subject: [Anthropology] Cree Language<BR><BR> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1561" name=GENERATOR><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=3> <DIV> <DIV>Cree language to go online with new Internet dictionary</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Kerry Benjoe</DIV> <DIV>The Leader-Post</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Saturday, April 28, 2007</DIV> <DIV><A title=http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=662453ca-78ca-41ca-9458-e115a5ec258f href="http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=662453ca-78ca-41ca-9458-e115a5ec258f"></A> </DIV> <DIV>The Cree language is going high tech as part of the Cree Language</DIV> <DIV>Resource Project that was announced on Friday at the First Nations
University of</DIV> <DIV>Canada (FNUniv).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The project is a joint initiative between the FNUniv, the Miyo</DIV> <DIV>Wahkohtowin Community Education Authority (MWCEA) and Intellinet Technologies Inc.</DIV> <DIV>The partners are working towards developing an online Cree-English</DIV> <DIV>dictionary.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"It's not for profit," said Loretta Pete-Lambert, director of education</DIV> <DIV>at the MWCEA.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Its intention is to preserve Cree, enhance Cree for individuals</DIV> <DIV>interested in learning about Cree."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The MWCEA, a K-to-12 school located on the Ermineskin Cree Nation in</DIV> <DIV>Alberta, is responsible for spearheading the initiative.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Pete-Lambert said the concept of an online dictionary that was both</DIV> <DIV>educational and interactive grew out of the need to find resources to</DIV> <DIV>teach the Cree
language.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>She anticipates the dictionary will be available by the end of May or</DIV> <DIV>the beginning of June. The dictionary is currently being worked on to ensure</DIV> <DIV>that everything is working as it should.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In November, Pete-Lambert signed a similar agreement with the University</DIV> <DIV>of Alberta to make its Cree dictionary available online. She feels it's</DIV> <DIV>important to convert as many of the existing First Nations dictionaries</DIV> <DIV>to an online version as a way of creating a more complete resource tool.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The project is moving forward very quickly because of the support</DIV> <DIV>Pete-Lambert has received from those involved in the project, like her</DIV> <DIV>school's information technologies person, Ahmed Jawad.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"He sees this as a very good resource for our school system. He's</DIV> <DIV>committed to it. He
has passion behind it," Pete-Lambert said of Jawad, who has</DIV> <DIV>also had to learn the Cree-syllabics system so that he's able to understand</DIV> <DIV>the intricacies involved with the First Nations language.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jawad is also the president of Intellinet Technologies Inc. and is</DIV> <DIV>responsible for developing the online version.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Richard Lightning, an elder from the Ermineskin First Nation, said he</DIV> <DIV>was overwhelmed by the whole project and is amazed by what technology is</DIV> <DIV>able to do.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Hopefully the First Nations people in this province support every</DIV> <DIV>effort to be able to revive and restore the language and the culture, because the</DIV> <DIV>two go hand in hand," said Lightning.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Arok Wolvengrey, an associate professor in the Indian Languages</DIV> <DIV>Department at the FNUniv, has provided all the
information from his dictionary,</DIV> <DIV>nehiyawewin: itwewina/Cree words, for the online version.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>He jumped at the opportunity to have his dictionary go online because he</DIV> <DIV>knew it was not something he would have been able to do on his own.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"I certainly did not have the expertise to take it to that next level,"</DIV> <DIV>said Wolvengrey.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"So this is perfect. It allows us to expand, to continually add</DIV> <DIV>information to the database ... But we're going way beyond that, doing audio files</DIV> <DIV>and video clips."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wolvengrey's passion for the Cree language began when he was introduced</DIV> <DIV>to it as a child. He has dedicated much of career to learning and</DIV> <DIV>preserving it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wolvengrey sees the potential the Internet can play in Cree retention</DIV> <DIV>intiatives and says
incorporating the syllabic-writing system as well as</DIV> <DIV>a pronunciation key will go a long way in helping people learn and retain</DIV> <DIV>the language.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The dictionary converts words from their English form into their Cree</DIV> <DIV>translation using Cree syllabics or the Roman alphabet. It can create</DIV> <DIV>flash cards and story boards, and includes games and testing components for</DIV> <DIV>children as well as a database of lesson plans for teachers.</DIV></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR> <DIV><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> See what's free at <A title=http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503 href="http://www.aol.com/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503" target=_blank>AOL.com</A>. </FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><BR><DIV>
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