For community members around New Brunswick and Quebec, a a Wabanaki language gathering put on by the University of New Brunswick’s Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre was a time to preserve and celebrate culture.
Stephen Jerome came from Quebec to teach a laundry basket weaving workshop on the weekend
“I’m just trying to teach other people how to make baskets because this culture is dying.”
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He said he’s concerned fewer and fewer people will know how to do the skill. Heather Condo led the weaving workshop with him, and shared his sentiment.
“It goes hand-in-hand with our languages too, right. Everything is fading, so along with people here trying to revitalize the language, we’re trying to revitalize this art,” she said.
Shalyn Ward is from Natoaganeg, also known as Eel Ground First Nation, and said she was attending to represent youth’s voices.
“Like Jeremy Dutcher said at one of the keynote speakings that he did this weekend, language is healing work, so in order to heal our nation, we need to learn the language,” she said.
To view more, watch the video above.
‘Here to stay’: Hundreds gather in Fredericton to preserve Wabanaki languages
