Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Before the wolf can howl, Norman Fleury says a Michif word: Ooyoowuk.

“Ooyoowuk,” Fleury repeats. Or, in English, “howl.”

Ooyoowuk is one of 70 words articulated by Fleury with an animation and English translation to match — all bundled into digital flashcards.

A group of Métis entrepreneurs unveiled their Michif flashcards this week. They join a swelling movement to revitalize the Métis language, which combines languages such as Cree and French.

“It’s an important part of our heritage — heritage, culture and language all go together,” said Grant Anderson.

He’s published at least 20 children’s books, including a series on Métis history. He’d clocked increasing efforts to spread Michif but found resources for kids were lacking.

“Being a kid’s book writer, I figured, ‘Well, maybe we should do something about this,’” Anderson said.

He called his long-time illustrator. Soon, Sheldon Dawson was painting 70 images on 11-by-14-inch canvases for Michif learning flashcards. The paintings are digitally reduced.

Anderson owns Prairie Sky Press in Winnipeg. He tapped his entrepreneurial children for the new project: Ben Anderson leads a digital marketing firm called Swank Business Solutions; Aynsley Anderson owns Prairie Sky Books, a Wolseley neighbourhood store.

The family contacted the Manitoba Métis Federation — Grant Anderson’s former employer — for funding. The MMF is set to receive around $15 million from Ottawa for Michif revitalization. The first of five annual instalments — roughly $3 million — came this year.

“That kind of support from the federal government, that’s key,” Anderson said.

And so, with $99,000 from Ottawa via the MMF, the trio has launched savemichif.ca.

Body parts, animals and family members have devoted flashcards. They have produced 1,500 physical flashcard sets, Anderson estimated. A $30 pack comes with a digital version, where elder Norman Fleury pronounces words and flashcard artwork moves.

“It was a challenging project,” said Ben Anderson, whose company oversaw the digitization.

“It’s a meaningful project to all of us, so we wanted to do the best job possible.”

Neither he nor his dad speak Michif. They’ve learned through osmosis during work, he relayed.

“That’s kind of the intention,” he said. “It’s not to learn Michif fluently from a set of 70 flashcards right away, but it’s an introduction.”

Manitoba Métis Federation surveys have found less than 1,000 people speak Michif across Canada’s Prairies, said Andrew Carrier, MMF minister of French and Michif language protection.

The Métis government opened a Michif language department last year. Since receiving federal funding, it’s put money towards videos, a Manitoba Theatre for Young People play, an artificial intelligence project, an audio book and programming to promote Michif revitalization.

One initiative sees young Métis learning French Michif from elders in St. Eustache. The MMF is working with St. James-Assiniboia and Winnipeg school divisions to incorporate Michif into classrooms, Carrier said.

“It’s critical that we work in (this) preservation,” he stressed.

The Andersons aim to get their flashcards in schools and daycares. Current packs showcase heritage Michif.

A French Michif option is in the works, Anderson said.

FortWhyte Alive plans to buy Michif flashcards for its children’s programming, said Leah Smith, the entity’s director of nature-based learning.

“It speaks to the land of Manitoba,” Smith said of Michif. “Whatever we can do to help bolster that and incorporate that into our own lives is, I think, really important.”

She’s been searching for Michif speakers to present at FortWhyte. Finding people hasn’t been easy, she said.

Ottawa is also directing money for Métis languages to Métis Nation British Columbia, Métis Nation of Ontario, Métis Nation Saskatchewan and Otipemisiwak Métis Government.

The governments implement their own language strategies and allocate funding, said David Larose, a media relations staffer with Canadian Heritage (the federal department dispensing the funds).

Anderson hopes to grow savemichif.ca, making it a “one-stop shop” for Michif languages.

Flashcards are sold on the website and at Prairie Sky Books at 871 Westminster Ave. Fifteen per cent of sale proceeds go to MMF local initiatives.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com