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BROUGHT TO YOU BY ISLAND SAVINGS, A DIVISION OF FIRST WEST CREDIT UNION
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tanisi cuzzins!
We've now arrived at the final Spirit Marker of the Y dialect. What an incredible journey this has been.
Each week, readers have followed along with me as I learned about my language using a sacred type of alphabet called Spirit Markers (also known as "syllabics").
We started in the East, which is on the left side of the Star Chart below, since the chart is oriented with the North at the bottom and the South at the top.
We are now on the last Spirit Marker of the last limb, the one that is in the Northeastern direction.
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From Esoteric.Codes' interview with Jon
Corbett.
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I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for walking alongside me on this journey. Like any meaningful journey, it was transformative for me.
I learned a lot along the way. I learned new Cree words, yes, but I also learned about myself.
I discovered a perseverance in me that I hadn't seen in a long, long time. The pressure of putting each lesson together – choosing a word, making sure I was using it correctly, designing the graphics – was daunting at first. The ongoing nature of these lessons turned into a bit of a slog at times. Juggling the making of them with my other responsibilities as publisher sometimes felt overwhelming.
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Sponsored by: Island Savings, a division of First West Credit
Union
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WHY CHOOSE US
When you join our credit union you are a member, not a customer. Our members are our owners and have an equal say in how our credit union operates, no matter their balance. Our members empower us to put people before profits and work in their true interests. By providing world-class banking services, the best financial advice in Canada and an approach that centres around our members, we simplify lives, helping members and communities thrive.
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So I'm proud of me for sticking with it. I feel more confident, knowing I can depend on myself to finish what I start.
And I'm grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to do that for myself.
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Here is our Spirit Marker for the week, ᒐ. It's pronounced either like 'tsa' or 'cha' depending on where it's placed in a word and the dialect or community.
When we put a dot on top of the Spirit Marker, like so ᒑ, the vowel becomes longer, and is pronounced, 'tsaa' or 'chaa.'
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I've been taught that Spirit Markers were named as such because they are a gift from the Spirit World. So I thought I would end our lessons with this word, to honour the gift of these Spirit Markers.
ᐊᐦᒐᕽ (ahcahk) means "a Spirit." is pronounced 'ah-CHAK,' as you can hear here.
In my culture, almost everything has ᐊᐦᒐᕽ. All plants and animals, all humans. Even rocks, which is why I have a granite rock that I smudge every day and call ᓂᒧᓲᒼ (nimosôm) or "my grandfather".
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And we're done!
We've reached the end of our final lesson of ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ (nêhiyawêwin) (Cree). Starting next week, the Friday newsletter will focus on what's happening here at IndigiNews, with a little humour thrown in from time to time, probably in the form of a meme. After all, they could be gifts from the Spirit World too. 😜
All Cree lessons will remain on the website, here. Please feel free to visit them whenever you like, or share them with someone you know who might be interested in them.
ᑭᓇᓈᐢᑯᒥᑎᓄᐤ (kinanâskomitinow) (I am grateful for all of you) and the community we are building together.
Aunty Eden
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Eden Fineday is a nehiyaw iskwew and the publisher of IndigiNews. She is a also a mom, writer and student of nehiyawewin. She lives with gratitude as an uninvited guest on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), səl̓ ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Peoples.
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