![Repeat after Me](https://cdn.magzter.com/1470409556/1721400703/articles/UwV2J4dzF1721739190466/REPEAT-AFTER-ME.jpg)
TANSI, today we are going through some random phrases," Julia Ouellette says to the camera.
She holds up slips of paper with English words while repeating the Cree translations quickly and then slowly. "tantahtwaw," she says, holding a paper that says "how many," emphasizing each syllable. "tantahtwaw. Repeat after me."
Ouellette, a grandmother from Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation in Saskatchewan, posts Cree-language videos regularly on Tik Tok, where she has more than 16,800 followers. The videos are casual, with a simple formula: Ouellette, in glasses, with her hair tied back, offers viewers a few Cree words or phrases to practise aloud. In both languages, her voice has the distinct quality of a Cree speaker: rich and resonant, her "r"s and "I"'s-consonants not found in Cree-are especially pronounced when she speaks English.
A former language teacher at Big Island Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, she started posting videos on Tik Tok in 2020 that included such COVID-era phrases as "wash your hands" (kasichiche) and "get away" (awas), along with more cheerful ones, like "Merry Christmas" (miyo-manitowi-kîsikanisi).
Ouellette never writes out the Cree words or phrases, instead instructing the viewer to repeat what they hear.
Ouellette is part of a growing community of Indigenous-language speakers using social media as a teaching tool.
James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw, a descendant of Turtle Mountain, shares an Ojibwe word regularly with his 135,000 Instagram followers. Jonathan Augustine, who goes by RezNeck Farmer on TikTok, shares Mi'kmaw lessons along with folksy videos about gardening. Zorga Qaunaq, under the username Tatiggat, posts about daily life, beading, and Inuit culture on TikTok, alongside how to properly pronounce words like "Inuit."
Denne historien er fra September/October 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September/October 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/crp_OpenAI-Chatgpt-Chris-Barry-Sam-Altman-tech-Silicon-Valley-startups-technology-AI-tools-AI-Artificial-intelligence-ChatGPT-Microsoft-Copilot-Generative-AI-Midjourney-content-creators-Al-powered-Science.jpg)
Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Some of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, are throwing their full weight behind AI. On top of the billions spent by big tech, funding for AI startups hit nearly $50 billion (US) in 2023.
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Mod6s8Lph1721739600875/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
MY CHILDREN are grown, with their own partners, their own lives.
![The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Aw4StcOcH1721739445375/THE-QUEST-TO-DECODE-VERMEERS-TRUE-COLOURS.jpg)
The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours
New techniques reveal hidden details in the Dutch master’s paintings
![Repeat after Me](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/UwV2J4dzF1721739190466/REPEAT-AFTER-ME.jpg)
Repeat after Me
TikTok and Instagram are helping to bring Indigenous languages back from the brink
![Smokehouse](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/zuS-yLypW1721738756152/SMOKEHOUSE.jpg)
Smokehouse
I WAS STANDING THERE at the corner, the corner where the smaller street intersects with the slightly wider one.
![How Could They Just Lose Him?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/50Fz0bOB01721738303312/HOW-COULD-THEY-JUST-LOSE-HIM.jpg)
How Could They Just Lose Him?
The Huronia Regional Centre was supposed to be a safe home for people with disabilities. Then, amid suspicions of abuse at the facility, twenty-one-year-old Robin Windross vanished without a trace
![Prairie Radical](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/O10U1A6Fl1721737787210/PRAIRIE-RADICAL.jpg)
Prairie Radical
How conspiracy theorists splintered a small town
![Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/etJ_NxrdD1721737419838/EENY-MEENY-MINY-MOE.jpg)
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Scott Moe rose quietly through the ranks. Now the Saskatchewan premier and his party are shaping policies with national consequences
![The Accommodation Problem](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/-nsjnqoWl1721736301032/THE-ACCOMMODATION-PROBLEM.jpg)
The Accommodation Problem
Extensions. Extra exam time. Online everything. Addressing the complex needs of students is creating chaos on campus
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/ZjBpzYG4o1719492279999/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.