A hands-on guide for parents and caregivers to develop best practices in revitalizing and teaching Cree to young children.
In nēhiyawētān kīkināhk / ​Speaking Cree in the Home, Belinda Daniels and Andrea Custer provide an introductory text to help families immerse themselves, their children, and their homes in nēhiyawēwin—the Cree language.

Despite the colonial attacks on Cree culture, language, and peoples, Custer and Daniels remind readers that the traditional ways of knowing and transferring knowledge to younger generations have not been lost and can be revived in the home, around the table, every day.

nēhiyawētān kīkināhk / ​Speaking Cree in the Home is an approachable, hands-on manual that helps to re-forge connections between identity, language, family, and community—by centering Indigenous knowledge and providing Cree learners and speakers with a practical guide to begin their own journey of reclaiming and revitalizing Cree in the home.

Readers are guided through methods for language learning, the basics of reading Cree and Standard Roman Orthography, pronunciation of vowels, engaging language-learning games, and examples of high-frequency words and phrases that can easily be incorporated into daily routines and taught to children young and old.

Andrea Custer is Woodland Cree and a fluent Cree speaker who grew up in wapâwikoscikanihk, also known as Pelican Narrows. She has a BA in Indigenous Studies from First Nations University, a secondary level BEd teaching degree from the University of Alberta, and a MEd from the University of Saskatchewan in Indigenous Land-Based Education. Andrea currently works at First Nations University as a Cree language lecturer.

Andrea Custer's profile page

Belinda Daniels began a journey in language recovery and now teaches others how to teach an Indigenous second language with the Canadian Indigenous Language and Development Institute. She is the founder of the non-profit nêhiyawak Language Experience Inc. and resides in Victoria, BC.

Belinda Daniels' profile page

Solomon Ratt was born near the Churchill River, just a few kilometres north of Stanley Mission. He spoke only Cree until the age of six when he was taken away from his parents to attend a residential school in Prince Albert. Since 1986, he has been an associate professor of Cree language studies at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan. He is the author of "nihithaw acimowina / Woods Cree Stories" published by the University of Regina Press in 2014. He lives in Regina, SK.

Solomon Ratt's profile page

Dr. Lana Whiskeyjack is a multidisciplinary treaty nêhiyaw (Cree) scholar and artist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation and assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts, Women's and Gender Studies, at the University of Alberta.

Lana Whiskeyjack's profile page

Shortlisted, Publishing in Education Award, Saskatchewan Book Award, 2023

“This is a welcome book for all who are interested in learning the Cree language, either for themselves alone or for themselves and their families. The book offers good guidance on the best practices in language learning based on the authors’ personal experiences in their respective language journeys.” —Solomon Ratt, author of mâci-nêhiyawêwin / Beginning Cree

“A major contribution, this book will be a useful resource in Cree classes, at both high school and university levels. But it is also useful for home use, as it describes the practical application of speaking Cree in the home and provides in an easy-to-read format and details a hands-on approach too.” —Dorothy Thunder (Plains Cree, Little Pine First Nation), Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta

“The activity-based learning lessons that are presented here should serve as a model not only for teaching the language in a family setting, but in any other formal and informal settings, because they cover all aspects of teaching and learning; the content, variety of methods, appropriate timing and setting. . . . The pioneering in Cree language acquisition and revival has begun and hopefully this book reaches all interested individuals.” —Ken Paupanekis, author of Pocket Cree: A Phrasebook for Nearly All Occasions