Lethbridge, Alta., school recruits Canadian icons to share Blackfoot words with students

What do the Calgary Flames, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Clara Hughes and Chris Hadfield have in common? 

Each of them has made a video for Chinook High School in Lethbridge, Alta., sharing a word in the Blackfoot language. 

It's just one of the many initiatives the southern Alberta school is using to promote reconciliation.

Marley HeavyShield, Indigenous grad coach at Chinook who is from the Kainai Nation (Blood reserve) just outside of Lethbridge, said the project got its start during the school's Truth and Reconciliation Week last year. 

The idea to include prominent local and national figures came later, when HeavyShield and Chinook vice-principal Duane Piper wondered how to make it "really, really big."

"It's kind of like, 'How can I get them excited about our language,'" HeavyShield said, adding they realized if a celebrity learns the language, "it means it's cool." 

Piper, a member of Cold Lake First Nation whose traditional name is Nakamos (little singer), said language is closely tied to culture, so language learning is a good way to strengthen culture.  

"My kokum was a fluent Cree speaker and now two generations later as her grandson, I am not a fluent Cree speaker," he said.

"Residential schools put a lot of shame on learning Indigenous languages and that is an enduring harm that continues to this day. I think now that schools can be part of making that right."

Learning Blackfoot today can be a source of pride, rather than shame, he added, and bringing in notable Canadians helps reinforce that idea.

But it isn't always easy getting famous Canadians to take part. Piper said for every 100 emails he sends, he gets about two responses. 

WATCH | Students and celebs help share Blackfoot Word of the Day:

Meet the students and celebs learning Blackfoot words

2 years ago

Duration 2:10

This high school in Lethbridge, Alta., is learning a Blackfoot word each week. They asked some big names to participate, too.

Getting the first guests, astronaut Chris Hadfield and Olympian Clara Hughes, helped get the ball rolling, according to Piper. 

Still, teaching non-native speakers how to pronounce a Blackfoot word can be tricky. 

HeavyShield said that she or her grandmother, elder and artist Faye HeavyShield, will record a word and offer up pronunciation tips for the guests — and it doesn't matter if the pronunciation is perfect. 

"If people are willing to make a mistake, at least you're trying," she said.

"I think that's important because I'm not a native Blackfoot speaker, but you can only get better with practice." 

Different guests connected with different students and staff, Piper said, adding that Hadfield or NHLer Wacey Rabbit for example resonated more with some students depending on their interests. 

The excitement generated by the videos, which are shared during weekly announcements, often leads to speculation about who the next guest will be. 

But that popularity also means careful thought is needed to ensure the school's initiatives actually benefit students, Piper said. 

"We're looking at how we can continue to grow and evolve the Blackfoot Word of the Week, how we can continue to make it meaningful for our students and not just become tokenistic," he said.

Piper said 10 per cent of Chinook's students are Indigenous — the highest of any high school in the city. With that in mind, he said the school recognizes its "moral imperative to look after our Indigenous students" and hopes other schools across the country do the same. 

This year the school has started to recruit students and staff to learn and share Blackfoot words, HeavyShield said.  

One of the most ardent participants is Jacob Medicine Crane, a Grade 9 Blackfoot student. He's made two different Word of the Week videos. 

"I was surprised when they [asked] me if they could interview me for the word," Medicine Crane said. 

"Not many schools recognize [the Blackfoot language] that much."

Although he has native speakers in his extended family, Medicine Crane said he has learned one word through the school's efforts: ika'kimaat which means "try hard."

HeavyShield and Piper say they continue to work on new ways to promote reconciliation within their school and hope others are inspired to do the same. 

The first step is making the effort. 

"We all learned how to say charcuterie, so we can all learn how to say I'taamikskanaotonni [good morning]," Piper said.