Concert helps bring Cree back to the community

Page 9

An evening filled with entertainment in an Aboriginal community is not an uncommon occurrence, but when the only language used over the course of the night is an Aboriginal language, then it becomes rare indeed.

On May 29, more than 300 people attended a concert at the Nipihsihkopahk High School in Hobbema. From the moments the lights were dimmed and the concert began, it was clear that this would be no regular show. Every word sung or spoken was in the Cree language.

The evening began with a prayer and welcoming remarks by Chief Victor Buffalo. The Grade 1 Nipihsihkopahk Cree Immersion students then performed a song. Other entertainment included songs from Carl Quinn of Saddle Lake and Edmund Bull of Little Pine, Sask. Theo Waskahat from Hobbema played the flute. The emcee of the night was Wilson Okeymaw, a local radio station manager. A luncheon and coffee was served before the show.

Okeymaw said that the idea for this type of concert began after Quinn gave him a CD to play on the local radio station. The community heard it and kept calling to ask where they could get Quinn's music. Today, they are still selling his CDs at the radio station and they are still as popular as ever.

Okeymaw thought it would be a good idea if the community would host an all-Cree speaking and singing concert, so with the help of Steve Wood, the Nipihsihkopahk High School drama teacher, plans were quickly underway. There were two scheduled shows, one at 1 p.m. free for children and one at 7 p.m. for adults. Okeymaw hopes that the money raised from the evening concert will pay for the posters and pamphlets.

"This event was not a money-making scheme. Our priority is to revitalize the Cree language for the younger generation, for them to be proud of their languages so that they could keep carrying it from generation to generation. We presently have people reviving our Native language here in Hobbema, which is good, because they want the kids to learn. I believe that retaining our Aboriginal language will be like a wild fire, because everyone wants to keep their language alive. They do not want it to die," said Okeymaw.

Okeymaw, who writes and composes his own Cree songs, said that he was impressed when the children sang one of Carl Quinn's Cree songs.

"I believe that kids who learn the Cree language by singing, learn faster than by being taught the conventional way. I find that when they learn from a song, they always remember it a lot longer," he said.