New book by Stoney Nakoda elder teaches language, stories

ÎYÂRHE NAKODA – Pink Mountain Girl (Îyâ Sa Wîyâ) nonetheless remembers her first catch.

It was throughout a searching camp with family that Tina Fox – as she is understood by many right this moment – caught a grouse hiding beneath a willow tree by the neck together with her naked arms.

A toddler on the time, she was brimming with delight. It was a grouse all her personal, in any case, or so she thought. That delight shortly soured into annoyance when the fowl was whisked away by her grandmother to turn out to be a stew.

It was a invaluable lesson in protocol, respect and sharing.

“That is the primary time you will have caught one thing,” her grandmother advised her. “When a baby or youth first catches one thing, they offer it to an elder. This fashion, you’ll obtain blessings in life.”

Now a revered elder preserving knowledge and traditions for future generations, Fox shares the cherished reminiscence in her newest e book, Îethka Tales & Language in Stoney Nakoda Nation – a considerate assortment of tales, poetry and Îethka values and language classes.

The e book is co-authored by her late son, Trent Fox, or Dancing White Buffalo (Tatâga Thkan Wagichi) as he’s recognized within the Îethka language.

“He and I took a writing course along with the Calgary Public Library that was for Treaty 7 individuals. I’ve advised him my tales and he advised me, ‘why don’t you write concerning the grouse?’” mentioned Fox.

“I had no concept what to put in writing at first. He was higher at writing in our language than I’m as a result of he’d taken some linguistic programs. So, he helped me with the writing system, and that turned my first e book.”

The kids’s e book is aptly titled Pink Mountain Girl Receives a Instructing. Her son, in the meantime, printed Grizzly Bear Girl Teaches the A’s, Â’s and B’s, additionally included of their shared e book.

Îethka Tales & Language is about reclamation of identification. It’s a listing of oral teachings vital to Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda tradition. The time period Îethka refers to each the language itself and to determine its individuals. Translated in English, it means speaker of a transparent language, the e book teaches.

Almost each phrase of the 137-page e book that’s written in English, can also be written in Îethka, or Stoney as it’s generally referred to. The language didn’t have a developed writing system till the Seventies – a feat that was solely made doable by over 50 elders of the First Nation’s Chiniki, Goodstoney and Bearspaw bands volunteering numerous hours to protect it in textual content.

Fox, a fluent speaker of her native tongue, was a part of this effort.

“Some elders have argued it’s not imagined to be written and takes the spirit out,” she mentioned of the language. “But when we don’t write it, the youngsters could have nothing to fall again on. We have now to put in writing it. If we go away it unwritten, it’s gonna be completely misplaced. I’m an enormous believer in writing.”

As we speak, she mentioned there are about 2,500 fluent Îethka audio system. That is roughly half the inhabitants of Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation residing in Morley (Mînî Thnî), Eden Valley (Gahna) and Massive Horn (Wapta Mnotha).

A resident elder and former counsellor at Nakoda Elementary College in Mînî Thnî, Fox intimately understands the significance of passing on the language.

In residential faculty, the power to talk it was robbed from her throughout tutorial time in favour of assimilating youngsters to talk English, now native Indigenous-led faculties intention for the other.

“The little children coming in, their first language is English, so we’re that near dropping our language,” mentioned Fox.

“It must be written and that’s why I assumed to additionally embrace classes about instructing components of the physique in our language on this e book.”

Fox’s great-granddaughter Heavenly Fox, 10, graces the e book’s cowl and is pictured all through pointing to completely different components of the human physique, with every accompanied by an English and Îethka translation of the physique half, utilized in a sentence.

The Îethka language differs considerably from English in its use of letters. In Îethka, every letter represents just one particular sound, not like in English the place letters can symbolize a number of sounds relying on their context.

Like English, it has 5 vowels, but it surely additionally has three nasal vowels – â, î and û. It additionally has distinct consonant clusters, determiners, possessive phrases, suffixes to make nouns and verbs plural, in addition to widespread affixes. All are damaged down within the e book by Fox’s late son, who was an adjunct Îethka language teacher and PhD pupil in schooling on the College of Calgary previous to his passing in June 2023.

Trent’s inquiry was on the historical past of the Îyârhe Nakoda individuals and improvement of the Îethka language. Earlier this month, he acquired his doctorate posthumously, along with his mom and sister, Terry Poucette, accepting the achievement in his honour.

Îethka Tales & Language in Stoney Nakoda is devoted in reminiscence of Trent.

“My want is that he was nonetheless right here, however he isn’t, and I’ve to just accept that,” mentioned Fox on the e book’s launch occasion on the Calgary Public Library on Friday (June 21), which additionally coincided with Nationwide Indigenous Peoples Day.

“He has despatched lots of highly effective messages, although, so I do know he’s with us in spirit. I need to honour him in each manner I can … I’m doing that by carrying on and never spending the remainder of my life in disappointment. That’s actually helped me in gaining my footing again and ending this e book and carrying on his work has helped, too.”

The Native Journalism Initiative is funded by the Authorities of Canada. The place covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Nation.