Thank you all for your support, I didn’t realize the amount of likes I received from you fine people. I appreciate all the shares and LIKES. It wasn’t too long ago that 400 likes was such a privilege to receive, from such a great group of people. Thank you for following my page.
#CreeSimonSays – Thankful translation.
Background vector created by starline – www.freepik.com – Thumbs up icon use.
This past week, there has been a great response to my DIY Cree clock posts. Unfortunately, I posted the images in haste and some mistakes were pointed out but I think I have them all corrected now. I am sorry if this has caused any inconvenience.
For my haste and mistakenly posting the clock images (now updated) , I have posted the following list of all the clocks I have on this website, in Plains & Woodland Cree, already for download in PDF format. Just download and print, easy. I am hoping to complete a Telling Time in Cree lesson next week, so please stay tuned for that.
PLAINS CREE – Y – PDF Downloads ⇓
Y-clock-in-cree_winter_sunset_01
Y-clock-in-cree_winter_sunrise_01
Y-clock-in-cree_white_button_01
Y-clock-in-cree_purple_button_01
Y-clock-in-cree_green_button_01
Y-clock-in-cree_fall_sunset_01
Y-clock-in-cree_blue_button_01
WOODLAND CREE – TH – PDF Downloads ⇓
TH-clock-in-cree_winter_sunset_01
TH-clock-in-cree_winter_sunrise_01
TH-clock-in-cree_white_button_01
TH-clock-in-cree_red_button_01
TH-clock-in-cree_purple_button_01
TH-clock-in-cree_green_button_01
TH-clock-in-cree_fall_sunset_01
TH-clock-in-cree_blue_button_01
I appreciate the great response from my followers. One of my former colleagues, Cynthia Cook, had a novel idea. She wants to download and print one of the clocks I have on this website and fit it into her old clock. I told her, it is a great idea and it would liven up an old boring clock that has been hanging on a wall for years. Why not give that a try.
Because of my mistake, I will have to reprint my clocks but at least the DIY Clock Tools are easy to transfer. Again, I apologize for my haste and hope you will take the time to re-download your favourite design. The previous blog posts will remain the same but the FREE CREE IMAGES page has updated images, check it out.
[Note: FREE PDF DOWNLOADS – PLAINS & WOODLAND CREE CLOCK – Charlie]
Since my previous post, I MADE MY OWN WOODLAND CREE CLOCK, I went to a printing business and got 3 different clocks printed out and laminated.
First, I had to insert the images into a WORD document and then [Wrap Text] to [In Front of Text] to resized the image to 8′ inches and centred it. I then Exported it as a PDF and saved to a thumb drive.
I got them printed with the settings shown on the receipt above.
I did the hard work for you and they are available in PDF for Download:
Here they are, printed and laminated.
I got my DIY CLOCK TOOLS and put a hole in the middle of the clock and cut around it (I didn’t do the best job but a more craftier person could do a better job, I’m sure).
Here is the finished product, all it needs is a battery. Please like and share.
The Cree audio, is based on artwork by Allen Morrow (https://firstnationstories.com/?page_id=787).
mwākwa – loon
mwākwak – loons (plural)
mwākos (or) mwākosis – small/baby loon (I’ve heard both terms).
mwākosisak – small/baby loons (plural)tipiskāwi-pīsim – moon
sākāhikan – lake
wāsakām – shoreline
mistikwak – trees
otākosin – evening (time of day)
Many of the words I used are from this page, an excellent resource: http://sapir.artsrn.ualberta.ca/itwewina/
The following weather terms are in Woodland Cree. The audio clips are much clearer than before.
mispon – it is snowing
kimowan – it is raining
miskwamiy-pahkisin – it is hailing
kitowak – there is thunder (thunderbirds are calling)
wāsiskotīpatho – lightning storm
kaskawahkamin – it is foggy
kaskawan – there is fog or mist
thikwaskwan – it is cloudy
wāsīskwan – sky is clear
thōtin – it is windy
tahkāyāw – it is cold
kīsopwīw – it is warm
kisāstīw – it is hot
athwāstin – it is calm
maci-kīsikāw – it is a miserable day
tahkithōwīw – there is wind chill
I took all the pictures shown on this post because I could not find an affordable stock online that I could use. I hope you enjoy this post, it took me a long time to get it done, but here it is.
Thank you for visiting.
When I started working with the Gift of Language and Culture in 2005, I moved into my maternal grandmother’s house in La Ronge, SK. Her name was Evelyn Venne, ōhōsis was her nickname, meaning little owl in Cree. She was happy to have me live there because I was her favourite grandson (according to me).
She asked me if I was still in school: “kīyāpic cī ī-tāyamihcikīn?” (Are you still going to school?)
I told her no, and that I started working in La Ronge. “tānsi māka īsi ī-ātoskīn?” (What are you working as?)
I was anticipating that question way before the conversation, “Web Developer kīsi ātoskiyān,” I said. The look on her face was one of confusion. I did not expect her to understand in anyway and wondered how I could put it in a way she would comprehend. Out of nowhere, she said: “mamahtāwi-āpacihcikan?” (computer).
īhī, (yes) I said, ikotowa kīkway. She looked and smiled her beautiful smile because she knew she caught me off-guard. Lesson learned, just because a person is elderly, does not mean they are not paying attention to the changing world. She knew I was in a computer training program, so I guess she just put two and two together.
She used to enjoy looking at all the pictures I had in my computer and was always amazed at the things it was capable of. I would scan old pictures and she would ask me: “tamahkapihtayin” – make the image larger.
How would one say Web Developer? Kohkominahkīsīs iyāpiy kā osihtāt – one who makes spider web, haha, maybe not. It would likely be a reference to using a computer for work, I think. Something like, mamahtāwi-āpacihcikan katoskātahk – one who works with computers. I believe it would be the general term for maybe IT admin or computer support worker.
Maybe one of the readers of this blog has an idea, I would love to hear it. Any words having to do with computers or maybe mobile devices, would great.
Nōhkom – my grandmother
mamahtāwi-āpacihcikan – computer (astonishing/amazing device)
ōhōsis – little owl
kīsi atoskīyān – is how I work/make a living
īhī – yes
ikotowa kīkway – that kind of thing
tamahkapihtayin” – make the image larger.
Kohkominahkīsīs iyāpiy kā osihtāt – one who makes spider web
mamahtāwi-āpacihcikan kā toskātahk – one who works with computers
Thank you for visiting, I hope to include more about my late grandmother as I go along.
| Happy New Year to all my readers out there, here’s hoping for a great year in stories and Cree blogs. |
After Christmas, it was back to the old grind for the family in the trapline. We needed to check out traps, nets and snares for food and the weather did not always cooperate with us. Nimosōm was going to check anyway because like he would say: “namwāc wītha nītha nika kipihtinikon kīkway, kīyām ithikohk kātahkāyāk.” (Nothing is going to stop me, no matter how cold it is).
So off he went to check the traps and I hoped he would trap a “wacaskos” – muskrat. I loved boiled muskrat with napatākwa – potatoes, the “pahkwīsikanapoy” – flour soup, afterward would really hit the spot. If it was all mixed into one pot, even better. The supper that day was great, “kwayask nimitho micison” – I ate well.
ocīmikīsikāw (literally ‘kissing day’) New Years Day was like the rest of January, we said our greetings of Happy New Year and then went on with our day. During the month, we did much of our fishing not far from camp, of course as it is with all fishermen, we tried many spots and even made the lake look like a slice of swish cheese, holes of many sizes but none too big to fall into. “niki mohcikihtān kākī kwaskwīpicikiyān” – I had fun when I was fishing.
“ocīmikīsikāw” (literally ‘kissing day’) – New Years Day
“nimosōm” – my grandfather
“wacaskos” – muskrat
“napatākwa” – potatoes
“pahkwīsikanapoy” – flour soup
Showcased in Molly Ratt’s Gallery 2
mōswa – one moose
mōswak – more than one moose
onīcāniw – cow moose (female)
iyāpīw – bull moose (male)
nōsīs – cow moose (female with a calf)
The spelling is how I remember it in school using Standard Roman Orthography.
As a boy, one of the many stories my late grandfather told me was when he thought he might have tracked the wihtikō. One day, in the winter, he was out with my late uncle (nohkomis) on the frozen lake, way before I was born. I listened attentively as he told his story about a set of tracks they had seen along the way to their destination. He did not know what kind of tracks they were and that he had seen many types of tracks over the years, but nothing like the ones they saw that day.
He described them as kind of a twig laden track. It was hard to vision what he was talking about. He said it in Cree, something like “watihkwanisa” or “wacihkwanisa.” It was a very vague description, but I was more interested on what or who it could be. My grandfather went on to say that my late uncle Jacob, did not seem interested before they went back on their journey. Nimosōm looked at me and said: “matwānci ana wihtikō kāki namimihāk?” (Maybe it was wihtikō tracks that we found?).
It was a story that intrigued me and left me wondering and wanting more. I imagined the wihtikō traveling around the boreal forest, looking for his next meal, maybe one of us at the camp. I was in awe of the possibility of his story being true that it stayed on my mind for many years. What if the wihtikō was nearby? Maybe he was looking for an opening to take one of us at the most opportune time and gobble us up, one by one. I cringed at the thought that he may have been observing me standing near the camp, waiting to pounce and drag me away when he had the chance.
I did not want to tell my mother this story because I did not want her to kill my fantasy, as it were. I wanted to believe there might be some loathsome creature that is real and evil. I wanted to find out more but without asking my parents what they might have thought. In short, I did not want to hear the truth because there had to be something out there and I wanted to believe my late grandfather’s tale and his adventure. I was totally exhaled at his fascinating storytelling. The mystery and thought-provoking ways he told his stories, were the most entertaining I ever heard, even to this day.
It is hard to say what it was that they tracked on the snow. The only thing I can think of, is maybe big boots with very rugged treads from another trapper. He did not elaborate where they might have tracked the foot/boot prints, but he told me this story when we were at our cabin at Pesiw Lake (he used to call it pīsiw sākahikanihk) in Northern Saskatchewan, about 120-130KM from the town of La Ronge.
“Twig” and “sprig A small branch or twig,” translation – courtesy of Online Cree Dictionary – http://www.creedictionary.com/search/?q=twig&scope=0
nimosōm – my grandfather
nohkomis – my uncle (dad’s side)
wihtikō – windigo
watihkwanisa – twig
wacihkwanisa – sprig A small branch or twig
matwānci ana wihtikō kāki namimihāk? – Maybe it was wihtikō tracks that we found?
pīsiw sākahikanihk – Pesiw Lake
I am not sure if I pronounced the twig and sprig properly but I did the best I could.
I need a new microphone, this old webcam mic is not cutting it.
mikiskāw – freeze-up
I fondly remember growing up the trapline around this season when I was a boy. My grandfather went out one time, just before freeze- up (mikiskāw) and told me that he was going to go check out a couple of places that needed his attention. I wanted to go with him but I could tell from his body language that he didn’t want me coming along. I wanted to go so badly but I didn’t ask, he went off and was on his way using the old rickety canoe that we used on so many duck hunting outings.
That evening, I waited patiently at my parents cabin for his imminent return as I noticed the weather changing drastically. The temperature dropped very noticeably and we all knew there would be ice the next day. He did not come back the next day and I missed the evening Cree story telling I enjoyed in the early nightfall. I was getting worried about him as the camp felt empty to me, without him.
On the second day, the ice was already getting thick, as there was very little wind to break the newly formed ice. I went to the shore again to see if he was coming home. It must have been my third trip to the shore that day. It was nearing about 4:00 PM, or somewhere around there, when I saw a familiar speck across the lake where the ice must have been thinner.
As he came closer, I could tell he was starting to need to put more effort into his paddling. The ice near the shore was at least an inch thick but my grandfather, wanting to show the man he is, broke through at a snails pace to get to shore. I was so happy to have him back home, and with him, was a couple of ducks that didn’t make it down south.
That evening, I read out some Archie comics (translated to Cree from me) to him as he sat listening intently, to another Archie vs Reggie adventure.
