To Wake Up the Nakota Language
Written and Directed by Louise BigEagle
“When you don’t know your language or your culture, you don’t know who you are,” says 69-year-old Armand McArthur, one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Pheasant Rump First Nation, Treaty 4 territory, in southern Saskatchewan. Through the wisdom of his words, Armand is committed to revitalizing his language and culture for his community and future generations.
National Film Board
It’s heartbreaking to see the sadness in Armand’s eyes as he talks about the dying language. He about being alone because all the other Nakota speakers he knew passed on and went up to the sky. Armand has even started to forget pieces of the language because he has no one to talk to. This is just one of the hundreds of cases where First Nation’s language and culture are becoming extinct. Towards the end of the documentary, we are given a bit of hope for his community as we see Armand teach a small class of adults. There is so much more that should be done and different ways that we can support language revitalisation across Canada.
This short documentary is powerful and moving. It is a great way to introduce the issue to someone unfamiliar with indigenous language extinction and inspire further research.
Watch To Wake Up the Nakota Language on the National Film Board website
