Say It First


Indigenous Language Revitalization

old man pangnirtung prince charles

Years ago Prince Charles created a children’s story for his younger brothers, Andrew and Edward, who were bored during a vacation to the royal family’s Scottish home of Balmoral. Called The Old Man of Lochnagar, it tells the tale of a grumpy Old Man who retreats into a cave, only to discover it’s an entrance to the Gorm pixie world. Published in 1980, with watercolour illustrations by Hugh Casson, it was an instant classic.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the tale has been re-imagined and published in Inuktitut, thanks to Mike Parkhill of SayITFirst, an organization that seeks to promote Indigenous languages by creating children’s books in languages ranging from Mi’Kmaw and Malisette to Woodlands Cree and Southern Tutchone.

Continued at http://writeroyalty.com/the-childrens-book-that-prince-charles-wrote-is-now-an-arctic-tale/

 

The Elders Speak

Brent Tookenay-CEO of Seven Generations Educational Institute

 

“SayITFirst has been a real catalyst for Seven Generations Educational Institute and our partnership with the Rainy River District School Board.  It has allowed us to become a driving force in the revitalization of Native Languages.”