Cree sound space

The time of Treaties in what is today western Canada, promised to usher in a period where the resources of the land would be shared between all peoples. The Cree expression miyo-wîcihitowin describes this ideal: the ideal of living well together.

Then there was the events of 1885. In Cree, these events are known as: ê-kî-mâyahkamikahk (literally, “where it went wrong”). I wrote about this in my last blog post. After the events of 1885, the Pass System was introduced which severely restricted people’s ability to leave the reserve. People were unable to leave the reserve unless they had permission from the Indian Agent. Often times, Indian Agents would punitively withhold their permission. 

I name 1885 as the colonial turn. After this, the sound and physical space of nêhiyawak, shrunk. There was the shrinking of Cree space, literal and metaphorical, through residential schools, the shrinking of Cree space through questionable land deals, and other oppressive policies. 

Things began to change in 1960 with the introduction of the Federal vote for First Nations people, and the ability of people to be able to leave the reserve without a permit. Then there was the activism of the 1960s. nêhiyawak in the 1970s got control of their schools on reserve. Then, under the charismatic leadership of Noel Starblanket, Indigenous people challenged the Federal government in a way in which they had not done in decades. The space of nêhiyawak expanded.

Today the narrative and sound space of nêhiyawak is expanding even more. nêhiyaw writers can reach a wide world in a way that was not possible for our  grandparents. To make our sound space as vibrant and as strong as possible we need to retrieve our ancestral knowledge and ancestral narrative traditions.  With our ancestral sound within us, we can echo nêhiyawêwin, Cree sound, through the whole world.

I would like to thank Open Book for asking me to be the writer-in-residence for this month: it was a real honour and pleasure.

Note: There is no capitalization in Cree.