Keisha Erwin is an Indigenous social media influencer, who teaches Cree on platforms including TikTok and Instagram. (Photo supplied).

By Amanda Leader

June Magazine Feature

Moving past language politics is needed for language revitalization

Sep 6, 2024 | 10:23 AM

If you only listen to Keisha Erwin, there’s no question they are Cree from Lac La Ronge Indian band; but when people see them, they start to question their identity and even whether they should be learning and speaking Cree.

Despite this challenge, Erwin has become a well-known Indigenous social media influencer, who teaches Cree on platforms including TikTok and Instagram.

Erwin says for older generations to see youth who care about the revitalization of Indigenous languages is important for communities because they need young adults to help show them it’s possible.

A full-circle moment while explaining their language journey learning nīhithaw – Cree, the Woodland dialect.

“I always ask my family members who are fluent for corrections,” said Erwin. “So, I know I’m saying it the way that my community says it and my dialect says it.”

Despite these efforts they, like many other second language learners of Indigenous languages, has experienced the negative side of language politics on social media.

Erwin referred to it as the you’re-not-saying-it-right language police.

Language politics is defined as the differences in languages, linguistics, and dialects of peoples in a political atmosphere.

“Even across Woodland communities, a lot of people try to police the way people are saying it or the way that people are learning it and that has a very negative effect on language learners,” said Erwin. “We internalize that we are not enough, we internalize that we are not native enough, we don’t know our language, and that can really trigger our own insecurities around identity.”

Charlotte Ross, PhD Candidate specializing in Indigenous Language Revitalization has also spoken about the concept of language politics.

“Individuals who are the speakers of the language, if they have not done any healing or they have not done any type of, you know, reconciliation; personal or community or family, or anything else then oftentimes that can turn into bullying and lateral violence happens when that’s the case,” said Ross, in a previous interview.

Erwin says when opinions on what it is to be Indigenous is based only on the phenotypic characteristics of an individual, ignorance plays a big role in the dialog.

The genotype is who we are.

Erwin, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band located in north-central Saskatchewan, attended the Indigenous Peoples, Media, and Democracy Conference at the First Nations University of Canada with their former professor Brock Pitawanakwat.

He is someone who helped spark Erwin’s passion to learn nīhithaw.

Fluent and second language learners are modernizing the revitalization of Indigenous languages with the use of social media.

Erwin believes more understanding and care is required to steer clear of retraumatizing learners of the language.

“There is a lot of shame for Residential school survivors, but then there’s also a lot of shame in our youth because we don’t know our languages and I think we need to come together and really bridge those understandings across generations so we can heal as a community and we can ensure that our language survives,” said Erwin.