Rose Campeau with Yellow Quill First Nation Urban Services. Photo by Joel Willick.
Yellow Quill First Nation is turning to its elders to pass on the Saulteax language to its youth.
The First Nation is hosting a two-day conference in Saskatoon this week, which is aimed at reconnecting Yellow Quill youth in the city with their culture.
The conference is entitled Reconnecting to Preserve Traditional Knowledge, and it is the first of its kind for Yellow Quill. It will feature sessions and workshops on traditional teachings passed down through the generations of the Yellow Quill First Nation.
“We are trying to preserve our culture, our language, our heritage,” said Rose Campeau, general manager of Yellow Quill’s Urban Services.
While the conference is focused on a wide variety of traditional teachings, organizers are especially hoping the conference will spark a revitalization of the Saulteaux language in their community.
Campeau says many of their youth don’t speak the language. She says there are plenty of resources for youth to learn Cree, but not many resources for Saulteaux.
“Our Saulteaux kids are learning how to speak Cree, which is not a problem,” said Campeau. “But we do want them to learn how to speak Saulteaux, so they can go back to their reserve and speak their traditional language with their grandparents.”
“In the end, I hope they take all that they learned here and spread the Saulteaux way of life,” she said.
Yellow Quill First Nation is about 230 kilometres east of Saskatoon. They have urban services in both Saskatoon and Regina.