Honourable senators, today, as part of Indigenous History Month, I rise in this chamber to continue speaking about the Métis Nation. Earlier this year, I spoke about the Métis people and our identity. Today I will explain the significance of the Métis heritage languages and what is at stake if our languages are lost.

The Métis have various distinct languages and dialects, including Michif Cree, northwestern Saskatchewan Michif, French Michif, Cree, Saulteaux and Bungi.

My ancestors spoke from the Red River spoke Southern Plains Cree Michif, also known as Heritage Michif. Heritage Michif is predominately composed of Plains Cree verbs and French nouns.

Michif acts as a vehicle for Métis history, world views, value systems and cultural knowledge. Our language communicates ecological knowledge, spiritual systems, legal orders, songs and oral stories. The same can be said for other Indigenous nations and languages. As put by one Cree elder, “When the stories disappear, our people will disappear.”

Canada’s earliest governments understood the relationship between Indigenous languages, culture and nationhood. This made Indigenous languages a clear target for Canada’s assimilation policies, which we should now call what it truly was: cultural genocide.

At residential schools, First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were prohibited from speaking their own languages. Punishment for doing so was very severe. Due to this trauma, many Indigenous people lost their language or refused to speak it. As a result, Indigenous languages were not passed down to younger generations.

The Gabriel Dumont Institute in Saskatoon estimates that somewhere between 90% to 95% of Métis people are unable to have a conversation in Michif. Like many other Indigenous languages, due to colonization Michif is on the verge of extinction.

Many Métis elders and language speakers, such as Elder Norman Fleury, who is considered the world’s leading language expert, have been hard at work to revitalize Michif and to ensure that the knowledge contained within our language will be passed down to future generations. Working with the Gabriel Dumont Institute and the University of Saskatchewan, Elder Fleury has made many strides to protect this crucial part of Michif heritage. Despite these efforts, Michif is still an endangered language and more must be done to protect it and all Indigenous languages.

The steps we take over the next few years will be critical to preserving this vital part of our culture. We must do this for our children and our children’s children. Thank you, marsee, for listening with an open heart.