Dialogues for Promoting Indigenous Spirituality and Culture
Capturing Culture
For over fifty years, Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan has been tirelessly committed to restoring pride in the Cree language, worldview and Indigenous identity throughout its Nation.
This preservation-driven strategy is rooted in the belief that no one can tell Muskeg Lake’s story better than its own people. Stories are not only a record of the past, but a legacy for children and grandchildren, creating a sense of identity, confidence and hope for the future. It is critical to take pride in ancient traditions, so the Nation is making changes today to ensure Cree culture thrives long into the future.
Muskeg Lake Cree Nation is achieving this with a two-fold project strategy: the Pope Francis Visit Project and Language of the Hunter. The first involves editing interviews from Nation members on their personal experiences after the late Pope’s visit in 2022. These will be archived in the Muskeg Lake Archives and integrated into school curricula and community programs. Language of the Hunter is a communal camp that brings together hunters and Cree language knowledge keepers to educate youth on traditional hunting skills, alongside the language, stories and spiritual concepts tied to them. These teachings will also be recorded, archived and developed into storybooks for Muskeg Lake schools and childcare programs.
The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) is honoured to support these initiatives focused on transforming oral history and culture into recorded, preserved and shared stories. By preserving language, safeguarding stories and passing on cultural knowledge directly from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, Muskeg Lake continues to shape a healing journey that is both deeply personal and powerfully collective.
Diocese of Prince Albert
