Young northern Cree want to know who they are as Nehiyaw

By Windspeaker.com staff

With files from Dustin McGladrey, CFWE-FM

Kyrn Auger says young people in northern Alberta are yearning to reconnect to their Indigenous culture. Christianity has so taken over northern communities that it’s hard to find resource people, he said, and he was lucky to have a mentor when he was young.

From the Loon River Cree First Nation, about five hours north of Edmonton, Auger has created the first episodes of a Youtube miniseries about being Nehiyaw (Cree). Called “A Glimpse Into Nehiyawak”, the series explores what is still available of the culture to young people.

His interest in the culture grew from his close relationship with his grandfather (mooshum) Jerry Noskey.

“He made sure I knew that I was a Nehiyaw, Auger told Dustin McGladrey of CFWE-FM. Noskey would braid Auger’s hair and put it in a pony tail before he went to school, all the while telling him stories about Cree beliefs.

But his mooshum grew sick and the lessons stopped. It wasn’t until Auger moved to Edmonton, that he reconnected with his culture through NorQuest College in the ceremonial room that is provided there. He soon developed relationships with other elders, Tony Arcand and Delores Cardinal, he said.

“I wanted to learn more about who I was.”

In the miniseries he says he is just learning about such things as the Morning Song when the sun rises and how to honor an animal when it is harvested. He speaks of Horse Dances, Sun dances, and Sweatlodges.

Youth are looking for culture, Kyrn told McGladrey. Youth in the north feel they don’t see what the southern nations have with respect to culture. He said there are a lot of people who want more information.

“It’s really messed up. This colonization has really destroyed our way of life… our belief system and the way we used to give thanks for everything, the way we used to honor everything,” he said in the first of his videos

He said it’s a myth that most Indigenous people are well-versed in their cultures, though it’s starting to come back in small ways.

Kyrn has more videos planned and hopes to listen to more stories and hear the prophecies, wanting to revive what has been lost.

Watch the first of the series here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCLzXLzKJJQ

Jerry Noskey with his grandson Kyrn Auger