Shé:kon. Kaweienon:ni iónkiáts

An Akwesasne woman who built a life around preserving her mother tongue teaches us that language matters.

By Marc Benoit

When she was first offered a teaching position at the Akwesasne Freedom School, Kaweienon:ni “Margaret” Cook-Peters wasn’t looking to achieve any specific goals. It was 1986, and although her first language was Kanien’kéha (Mohawk), for many in her community, the language was considered a relic of the past. “When I started teaching, I didn’t realize our language was in such bad shape,” she explained. “People my age and older were still speaking the language, but the younger people couldn’t.”

Kaweienon:ni has been a language instructor at many educational institutions including Queen’s University and SUNY Potsdam. In her three decades of teaching, she has helped guide her community in retaining and relearning their language, and she’s noticed a significant shift in not only its usage but in the demand for learning opportunities. Now with immersion programs available in federally funded schools, adult oriented community programs, Mohawk language film showings, and other happenings, the young and the old are eagerly learning and speaking Mohawk at levels not seen for decades.

Kaweienon:ni with students from St. Columban’s Catholic School. She read Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever to them in Mohawk.

This January, in the UN Year of Indigenous Languages, Kaweienon:ni made history by being the first person to provide simultaneous translation services in the House of Commons when Quebec MP Marc Miller delivered a speech in Kanien’kéha. He made a point of highlighting her service that day as well as her work in translating the federal government’s residential school apology, and thanked her for her dedication to preserving the Mohawk language. “It was kind of unbelievable,” she admitted. “It’s a good feeling to know that our language is being used and more recognized.”

Recently, Kaweienon:ni was told that the cancer she fought into remission three years ago has returned. Her condition makes it difficult for her to speak and she’s had to scale back her work. And yet, her voice and legacy continue to shape the conversation— in Kanien’kéha and otherwise.

Title translation: HELLO. MY NAME IS KAWEIENON:NI.