Dallin Schmidt

Sep 26, 2024 | canadiangeographic.ca | Cara McKenna |David Stobbe |Dallin Schmidt

Every morning, Raylene Cardinal displays a different nêhiyawêwin word on the board in her classroom for her students to learn. Today, the word is nîpin — summer. It’s almost the end of the school year, and the children are preparing to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day with a cultural event at the school. “I teach them how to say it [and] what the word means. It’s a new word every single day, just to build that awareness of the Cree language and who they are,” explains Cardinal.