A (non-exhaustive) collection of resources for language learners, largely focused around the Cree language.
Type | Title | Content | Category | Level |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elderspeak | Meadow Lake First Nation Web archive version of the 2004 Elderspeak project from MLFN. 10 stories in nêhiyawêwin and english and another 6 in Dene. | YE | Immersion | Intermediate | |
giellalt / lang-crk (GitHub) | Alberta Language Technology Lab Finite state and Constraint Grammar based analysers and proofing tools, and language resources for the Plains Cree language. Used for the itwêwina dictionary. | YE | Academic | Advanced | |
Maskwacîs Cree app | Samson Cree Nation Great app with words, phrases, and games for kids. | YE | Kids | Beginner | |
Google map with pins showing where various dialects of the language is spoken. | E | Reference | Beginner | |
Plains Cree Dictionary | Algonquian Dictionaries Project Another dictionary online, with similar entries as itwêwina, but without inflections (conjugation). | YE | Reference | Beginner | |
Online Cree Dictionary | Miyo Wahkotowin Education Authority The older dictionary (or “orange dictionary”) that is available both online, and as an app for iPhone and Android. Is being officially replaced by itwêwina dictionary, but still useful to have as an app on your phone. | YE | Reference | Beginner | |
itwêwina (Plains Cree Dictionary) | Alberta Language Technology Lab The newest (and most powerful) dictionary for nêhiyawêwin, this online app can conjugate (and de-conjugate) making it much easier to find words in the dictionary. Developed by the Alberta Language Technology Lab and the UofA. | YE | Reference | Beginner | |
Plains Cree Texts | Leonard Bloomfield PDF scan of the original book published in the 1930s. Bloomfield’s work was the first collection to use a standardized writing system for nêhiyawêwin and formed the bases for what later became SRO, or Standard Roman Orthography. These texts can also be found online at | YE | Immersion | Intermediate | |
Learning from the computational modelling of Plains Cree verbs | Atticus G. Harrigan et al This paper describes the ongoing process of creating a computational morphological model of Plains Cree, a language native to North America, making use of finite-state machines, and with a focus on verbs. | YE | Academic | Advanced | |
Sênapân is constantly pushing out new content focused on language learning and targeted at learners of all levels. There are tons of resources from games, activities, docs, and videos to peruse in this Facebook group. Sênapân also generally runs a weekly online group, nîhtâwêwin | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
A Dictionary of the Cree Language (1865) | E.A. Watkins An early dictionary by the missionary E.A. Watkins, with Cree to English and English to Cree. Watkins developed his own (somewhat inconsistent) spelling system, so some existing knowledge of words is helpful in parsing out the content. | YE | Reference | Intermediate | |
White Bear Plains Cree Conversational Manual | White Bear Another phrases guide in Plains Cree, English and French from Beardy's & Okemasis. Originally Written for East Cree by Louise Blacksmith, Marie-Odile Junker, Marguerite MacKenzie, Luci Salt, Annie Whiskeychan. Adapted for Plains Cree by Jean Okimāsis & Arok Wolvengrey. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Beardy's & Okemasis Plains Cree Conversational Manual | Robert Eyahpaise Phrases in Plains Cree, English and French from Beardy's & Okemasis. Originally Written for East Cree by Louise Blacksmith, Marie-Odile Junker, Marguerite MacKenzie, Luci Salt, Annie Whiskeychan. Adapted for Plains Cree by Jean Okimāsis & Arok Wolvengrey. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Not Wordle - based on the work from Hannah Park and Aiden Pine | Aaron Fay nêhiyaw take on the viral game Wordle, guess the 5-letter word within 6 tries, resets once a day. | Y | Immersion | Beginner | |
A Cree view of Education | Solomon Ratt ”The activities in this unit are designed to give the students an appreciation of their heritage. Doing practical crafts like making snowshoes, paddles, birch-bark baskets, birch-bark canoes, birch syrup, bows and arrows, slings, willow whistles, scrapers, moccasins, leather mitts, cradleboards, fish-roasters (apwânâsk), and setting various types of snares will show how innovative the ancestors were to adapt to the ways of the land.” | YE | Reference | Intermediate | |
How to say it in Cree | Solomon Ratt Possibly a precursor to mâci-nêhiyawêwin, a PDF that I found on the internet somewhere quite a while ago an now seems hard to find. Archived here for posterity :) | YE | Reference | Beginner | |
One of Carl Quinn’s fantastic albums, all in nêhiyawêwin. | Y | Immersion | Beginner | |
Cree Language Videos and Lessons | Our Elders Stories Resource featuring YouTube links to listen to different phrases and nouns. Also, there are different dialects featured. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Tom’s Ramsey Story | Tom’s Ramsey A short story that was told to Tom Ramsey from his sister-in-law. English subtitles. | YE | Immersion | Intermediate | |
“As Little Bear goes about his day, readers learn AI verbs that might apply to their own daily lives, and how to conjugate those verbs to describe others’ actions in the third person (singular)” | YE | Kids | Beginner | |
100 Days of Cree | Neal McLeod This should actually be called 1000 days of Cree, there’s so much good material in there. Neal introduces both some old works and phrases, as well as some more contemporary words that have been devised by fluent speakers. | YE | Reference | Beginner | |
Brian McDonald album | Brian McDonald Including the famous “tânisi song” and others, the full album is available to stream on YouTube Music as well as other platforms. | YE | Kids | Beginner | |
First Nations Storytelling playlist | MFNERC - Inclusive Education A handful of stories in the language (including N-dialect), a creation story, trickster story | Y | Immersion | Intermediate | |
Small Number Counts to 100 - in Cree | Simon Fraser University Cree version of "Small Number Counts to 100", a short animation movie aimed at transforming math into a star in the eyes of kindergarten to high school Aboriginal youth. | Y | Immersion | Intermediate | |
History of the Cree Language (part 2) | Reuben Quinn Conclusion to the two-part series on the history of the nêhiyaw people. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
History of the Cree Language (part 1) | Reuben Quinn A really great history of the nêhiyawak with an introduction to syllabics by Reuben Quinn. Don’t forget to also watch part 2. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Wahkohtowin: Cree Natural Law | BearPaw Media and Education A great video with a lot of spoken language, talking about natural law, relations, and maintaining Cree culture. | YE | Immersion | Intermediate | |
pê-nêhiyawêk: Come Speak Cree with Darren Okemaysim | File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council A dozen lengthy videos covering two sets of nêhiyawêwin classes by the late Darren Okemaysim, featuring the TPR method. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Neil present a number of videos introducing vocab and phrases, including the sounds of the language and SRO, a perfect reference for beginners from an advanced language learner. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree Chatter Hour with Fawn & Dallas | CFWE A still-running podcast/radio program from CFWE where Fawn Wood and Dallas Waskahat talk about the language and introduce new vocabulary and phrases. | YE | Commentary | Beginner | |
W.T. GoodSpirit (Wayne Jackson) on CFWE | CFWE A short playlist of visits to CFWE from Wayne Jackson. | YE | Commentary | Beginner | |
Reuben Quinn on CFWE's Conversational Cree | CFWE A handful of episodes from CFWE with Reuben Quinn as the guest. | YE | Commentary | Beginner | |
University nuxełhot’įne thaaɁehots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills's Podcast | Wayne Jackson Wayne presents a number of episodes from over the years, typically starting with a bit of a language lesson in the beginning, and ending with a story or interview from a fluent speaker at the end. | YE | Immersion | Beginner | |
Unsettling Your Language Podcast | Chelsea Vowel A four-part podcast on getting started learning nêhiyawêwin by Chelsea Vowel. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
mâci-nêhiyawêwin / Beginning Cree (online version) | Solomon Ratt Earlier (draft) copy of the fantastic book from Solomon, from 2012. Has the majority of what’s in the print version with the exception of some of the more advanced paradigms in the back. Released with permission from the author. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
mâci-nêhiyawêwin / Beginning Cree | Solomon Ratt Excellent book for beginners that covers phrasing, vocabulary and grammar. Workbook and reference all in one, and well worth the price. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
learncree.ca | Lac La Ronge Indian Band Various printable (free and paid) resources including posters, books and learning aides in the TH dialect. | TH | Kids | Beginner | |
learncree.ca | Lac La Ronge Indian Band A collection of songs online in the TH dialect. | TH | Kids | Beginner | |
learncree.ca | Lac La Ronge Indian Band Interactive, online activities for getting exposure to home, animals, and other daily vocabulary. | TH | Kids | Beginner | |
Learn Cree with Me | Cathy Wheaton Bird Another great resource on Facebook (though you’ll need to ask to join), Cathy has also collected tons of resources around the internet, and posts videos regularly from her journey as a language learner. Definitely check out the “Featured” posts for lots of treasure. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Nêhiyawêwin (Cree) Word/Phrase of the Day | Wayne Jackson One of the largest Facebook groups, and full of tons of questions, phrases, videos and other content. Posting still occurs daily, but you may find real value in the search feature when looking for various words and phrases (like hippopotamus 😆). | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Facebook group by Simon Bird. Simon posts regularly various mnemonics, games, and memes to help support language revitalization online. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Learn Cree with Andrea | Andrea Custer Various videos on the sounds of the language and beginner lessons and songs in nêhiyawêwin | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree: Language of the Plains | Jean Okimâsis Paperback copy | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree: Language of the Plains workbook | Jean Okimâsis Workbook to accompany the language reference and audio sessions from Jean Okimâsis | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree: Language of the Plains audio sessions | Jean Okimâsis Audio sessions to accompany the Cree: Language of the Plains reference and workbook | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree: Language of the Plains | Jean Okimâsis A great resource for anyone interested in getting started with the language. Jean’s book is a gentle introduction into various concepts around the language grammar and structure, along with a healthy dose of vocabulary, and shouldn’t be missed if you’re just starting out. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Cree Literacy Network | Arden Ogg CLN has been collecting stories and content for language learners for over a decade, with links to resources, books, and collections of audio and stories within, many hours can be spent perusing the archives. A worthwhile visit at any level. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Marjorie White ê-kî-pê-nêhiyawêmototâkoyâhk kâkikê | Wayne Jackson Marjorie White discusses her upbringing with the nêhiyaw language, and her ongoing Lessons in a visit to Blue Quills University. | Y | Immersion | Intermediate | |
Long & Short vowel sounds in nêhiyawêwin | Wayne Jackson Cree Warrior gives us another kind lesson on the long and short vowels in the language as well as how they are represented in syllabics. | Y | Lessons | Beginner | |
Language & Connections to the Land - Wayne Jackson | Centre for Race & Culture A narrative from Cree Warrior | YE | Immersion | Beginner | |
How to Spell it in Cree | Jean Okimâsis & Arok Wolvengrey Document discusses the details of how to use SRO (standard roman othography), the most commonly-used standard alphabet for the Cree language. | YE | Lessons | Beginner | |
Plains Cree: A Grammatical Study | H. Christoph Wolfart An in-depth look at the grammatical characteristics of Plains Cree. Explores everything from noun and verb paradigms to morphemes, to rare forms of words used in the language. | YE | Academic | Advanced |