Our Languages ~ Plains Cree ~ Preservation and Revitalization Initiatives

Cree Retention Committee

Mandate

To promote the preservation and rejuvenation of the Cree language, culture and history.
To assist in the facilitation of policy development for First Nations' languages in Saskatchewan.
To provide advice to the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre relative to the language, culture and historic preservation needs of the Cree and assist in developing strategies to meet those needs.
To support the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre in its initiatives by serving as an information source and assisting with data collection, information dissemination, project planning, implementation and assessment.

Goals and Objectives

To develop within the Cree communities and within the general public awareness of the importance of the Cree language, culture and history.
To encourage various levels of government to adopt policies that will insure and enhance the development of the Cree language, culture and history.
To adopt, implement and promote the maintenance of standardized Cree orthography.
To work together, under the advisement of the Elders, to develop educational materials, curricular activities, teaching methods, and other resources to assure that our children learn our language history, traditions, values and beliefs.
To provide a forum for discussion of ideas and issues relevant to the preservation of the Cree language, culture and history.
To monitor the use and advancement of the Cree language in schools, band offices and other places of business within the Cree communities.
To support and promote initiatives related to Cree language, culture and history in education, the media and other social institutions.
To develop guidelines that will improve the quality of published Cree materials.
To assure the health and vitality of the Cree language by actively updating the lexicon and keeping language users informed of the new terms.
When requested will edit Cree language and/or content instructional resource materials developed by the committee members.
To evaluate Cree language and/or content instructional resource materials produced by non-committee members to determine their linguistic, cultural, historic and pedagogical appropriateness and accuracy, reporting the committee's findings to schools in the Cree communities and the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre (SICC).
To apply for grants to facilitate the delivery of the above services to Cree communities.

Cree Language Retention Committee
c/o Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre
120-33rd Street East
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0S2
Phone: (306) 244-1146
Fax: (306) 665-6520