Lesson One: Aboriginal Numbers

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8

Teacher Information:  

The exact number of Aboriginal languages spoken at the time of European contact is unknown. This is for a number of reasons. Aboriginal People did not communicate at this time using letters or numbers, and early European traders often kept biased accounts of interactions with Aboriginal People. It is unlikely that they would have been able to record language dialects at that point in history. Many Aboriginal languages exist in a wide range of similar dialects, making classification a confusing and subjective task. However, at present time it is widely accepted that approximately fifty-three distinct Aboriginal languages survive in Canada today. Many of these are related and are subsequently grouped into eleven language families.

The Algoquian language family is reportedly the largest. It consists of language groups such as Cree, Blackfoot, Algonquin, and Micmac. Each individual language group can have separate dialects, as is the case with Cree, a language containing five dialects. The Algonquian language family geographically covers a large portion of Southern Alberta with the exception of the Micmac language group. It is important to note that only Cree, Ojibwa and Inuktitut are considered to be flourishing.

Métis People have their own language known as Michif, a combination of Cree and French.

NOTE: The above three paragraphs come from http://www.edukits.ca/aboriginal/language/teacher/gr2_lesson1_3.htm

This lesson plan will be focusing on the Algonquian language family, specifically Cree.

As Cree is the largest language group in Alberta, students will learn a how to say numbers up to ten in Cree. This would be an excellent time to invite a Cree person within the community to provide a presentation on the Cree language. This will allow students to hear firsthand what the language sounds like, and how it is interwoven with culture.

If you are unable to get someone in from the community to speak Cree then an alternative suggestion is to go to the website Elders’ Voices at http://www.abheritage.ca/eldersvoices/index.html. Click on the left hand side of the page that reads The Voices and then on Centurions. Once on this page, click on the Featured Video link which features three Cree Centurion women speaking in their language and discussing what life used to be like. Students should find this very interesting to hear (subtitles are provided) these women speak about their lives over 100 years ago.

The Cree language contains five dialects. Plains “Y,” Swampy “N,” Moose Cree “L,” Wood Cree “TH,” and Atihkamek Cree “R.” There are eight consonants in the Cree language: p, t, c, k, s, h, m, n. There are seven vowels short: i, a, o; and four vowels long: î, â, ô, e. As well there are two semi-vowels, “w” and “y.”

To goal of this lesson is for students to realize that all cultures have numbers and regardless of the name for the number and how it sounds they still all mean the same thing or have the same value.

Main Lesson:

Write the following Cree numbers on stiff board and laminate them. Display them for students to see how they are spelled. Beside each number laminate a picture from Aboriginal culture that displays the numeric value. Images for downloading can be found in the Student Zone Photo Gallery section. As an alternative, you may choose to allow students to browse the Photo Gallery themselves and identify the numeric values found in the photos.

0 - zero mwac ke'kwa'n

1 - one pe'yak

2 - two n'iso

3 - three nisto

4 - four n'ew, ne'wo, ne'yo

5 - five niya'nan

6 - six n(i)kotwa'sik or kotwa'sik

7 - seven te'pakohp

8 - eight ayina'new

9 - nine ke'ka'c mita'taht

10 - ten mita'taht

Practice saying all of the numbers in Cree. Ask students to look around the classroom and count the following aloud in Cree: (you may alter this list to suit your environment)

1. The windows in the room.
2. The doors in the room.
3. The chairs in the each row.
4. The number of boys or girls in the classroom.
5. The number of teachers in the classroom.
6. The buttons on your shirt or dress.
7. The number of brown or blonde haired people in the room.
8. The number of chalkboards in the room.