Luci Salt reflects on a lifetime of Cree language advocacy

by Patrick Quinn Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

To commemorate Cree Language Month this March, the Grand Council of the Crees honoured language experts and advocates like Luci Salt on social media. Salt has played a pioneering role in Cree language preservation for over 40 years, working with the Cree School Board and every other major Cree institution as well as the provincial and federal governments.

While she retired in 2006, Salt continues to work as a translation consultant and was selected in 2021 to be part of an ad-hoc advisory committee on the Cree language by language commissioner Jamie Moses. This temporary body meets three to four times each year to help guide the office of the commissioner.

“In spite of efforts to eradicate it, we still have our beautiful and rich Cree language,” Salt told the Nation. “I love my language and I feel privileged that I was a part of its inclusion in our education institutions and in the areas where our people want to show its importance in the work that they do.”

The Cree Nation and its language have evolved immensely over the course of Salt’s life, which began in 1947 when her family lived off the land and there were no hindrances to the language’s development. To be closer to medical assistance, her parents travelled by dog team to Fort George where she was born in one of the island’s few houses.

At the time, there were no books written in Cree except for religious material distributed by the church. All knowledge passed on to children was oral and traditional activities were learned by hands-on observation and experience. Residential school would soon rupture this bond.

“Suddenly speaking Cree was forbidden,” Salt recalled. “We were not allowed to speak the only language we knew. Everything familiar was taken away – the biggest loss was our daily connection to our parents’ love and guidance. We were put into a completely different environment.”

Although residential school students only returned to their communities for two months per year, the Cree language was strong enough that it was possible to retain that cultural connection. However, when Salt began her 11-year