We have to remember that our language is in our land and our land speaks our language.
— Imelda Perley, Mi'kmawi'simk / Mi'kmaq
Our words are so beautiful. They're so powerful. And they give us strength to stand strong and proud of who we are.
— Laura Chaboyer, nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree / Cri des plaines)
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Indigenous Stories that Connect Us: An Interactive Languages Map

Lifting the voices of Indigenous language learners, speakers, and Knowledge Keepers from across Canada, this interactive map brings recorded stories to life, placing each voice in the landscape that shaped it. Providing geographical context for these stories is a powerful reminder of the deep connection between language and land.

To listen to a video, click any pinpoint on the map, or select a group of videos by “Language Family” or “Age Group” in the legend.”

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Algonquian

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc hendrerit sem augue, ut pulvinar leo laoreet vel. In efficitur purus risus. Duis vitae aliquet tortor. Proin lacinia velit quis felis mollis euismod. Aenean luctus ipsum a lorem condimentum, eu condimentum nulla efficitur. Nunc volutpat magna dignissim ante tincidunt, vitae fermentum libero laoreet.

Vivamus gravida, felis at ullamcorper posuere, enim ex posuere nisi, nec euismod purus lorem non risus. Integer venenatis, arcu ut interdum fermentum, sapien purus rutrum diam, eget aliquam sapien mauris at est. Praesent ornare interdum ante, ut cursus velit rhoncus sit amet. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Quisque quis luctus tortor.

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Inuit

Aliquam sed finibus mauris. Vestibulum nibh nulla, venenatis id justo eget, scelerisque varius tellus. Cras tincidunt dolor eget leo posuere mattis. Curabitur ultricies porta imperdiet. Fusce rutrum est et ligula ultrices commodo.

Morbi lobortis, nibh ut hendrerit tincidunt, erat enim pulvinar erat, vitae tincidunt odio ex lobortis nisl. Nunc auctor lectus vitae urna condimentum fermentum. Nullam laoreet est eget felis venenatis, et elementum ex commodo.

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Athabaskan

Maecenas tincidunt lacus tellus, id tristique nulla maximus egestas. Donec sit amet aliquam sem. Quisque sagittis efficitur massa, et vehicula ligula mollis at. Duis vitae dui egestas elit aliquam hendrerit. Mauris at porta libero, id malesuada risus. Sed laoreet imperdiet vehicula. Suspendisse potenti.

Nulla elit mi, euismod in finibus gravida, dictum a tellus. Nullam commodo blandit urna eu pulvinar. Duis finibus, augue sed rhoncus lacinia, ipsum neque euismod neque, non tempus odio ligula vitae lectus. Nunc eu suscipit arcu, in dignissim nulla. Pellentesque eu tellus ac nisl feugiat luctus a ut diam. Pellentesque eget est ornare, mollis erat vitae, luctus purus.

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Siouan

Mauris tempus sagittis purus, quis aliquet risus hendrerit et. Fusce at arcu leo. In a ultrices magna. Proin laoreet vehicula quam id malesuada. Aliquam a augue sed justo tincidunt pretium at quis diam.

Curabitur in nisi sed arcu gravida rhoncus. Vivamus hendrerit, neque at fermentum rutrum, augue neque semper odio, vitae mattis urna dolor eu felis. Sed mattis convallis lacus, id porttitor elit vestibulum quis.

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Salish

Suspendisse non dui vitae neque ultricies pharetra quis ac eros. Vivamus semper feugiat turpis venenatis suscipit. Donec a molestie dolor, vulputate sagittis sapien. Nulla facilisi. Proin et ex vel tortor consectetur fringilla et in turpis. Etiam at congue eros, sit amet scelerisque elit. Donec facilisis tortor id nunc volutpat accumsan eu venenatis nunc.

Nulla ullamcorper, nisl a consequat semper, elit justo tempor lectus, vel tempus massa erat sed diam. Aenean ullamcorper, velit eget laoreet viverra, orci risus placerat nunc, ac condimentum mauris lacus a massa. Duis efficitur sit amet diam eu efficitur. Integer fringilla rhoncus velit, at hendrerit mi faucibus hendrerit. Aliquam vitae odio enim. Pellentesque ac porta felis, ut condimentum est.

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Tsimshian

Duis vel eros risus. Morbi suscipit ullamcorper quam, vitae tempor est luctus in. In ex quam, lobortis in elementum at, maximus at ligula. Donec sed posuere ligula, at tincidunt ligula. Nunc lacinia sapien in est maximus, eget placerat risus vulputate. Mauris quis imperdiet enim. In imperdiet ipsum sit amet enim tempor tempor.

Etiam ut nisl malesuada, scelerisque magna vel, pharetra ante. Morbi viverra eleifend nunc non sollicitudin. Donec in lectus non erat interdum auctor. Ut mollis rhoncus ante, eu semper nisi tempus dapibus. Mauris blandit iaculis tellus, sit amet facilisis felis fringilla sit amet. Nam vitae sapien ac ex tristique viverra sed ac elit.

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Wakashan

Sed sed erat non erat rhoncus dictum. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nam condimentum lorem sollicitudin accumsan iaculis. Donec id dapibus purus, id faucibus odio. Fusce viverra facilisis mattis. Morbi nec orci lacinia, tristique velit sed, egestas dui.

Phasellus sit amet erat odio. Nullam sit amet porta arcu. Proin consequat congue odio, nec rutrum leo semper sed. Proin consectetur lobortis magna, eget lacinia mi suscipit in. Nam vehicula fringilla elit, quis vestibulum dui rutrum id. Maecenas et tellus vehicula, dapibus elit at, sollicitudin purus. Cras pulvinar nulla quis tempus rutrum. Quisque tellus augue, auctor et facilisis sit amet, imperdiet ultricies ex.

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Iroquoian

In congue laoreet molestie. Proin tellus lorem, sagittis non consectetur eget, elementum sit amet nisi. Nullam faucibus, orci vitae faucibus sodales, turpis turpis dapibus lacus, ut vulputate lacus urna quis arcu. Nam viverra nisl nisl, ac lobortis metus commodo id. Praesent vitae molestie ante. Etiam imperdiet dui sed risus eleifend luctus. Donec tristique massa sit amet urna hendrerit, condimentum dignissim augue aliquet. Aenean vitae rhoncus ex, pulvinar laoreet eros.

Ut in porttitor nibh. Quisque non lectus nec nulla mollis pharetra. Quisque suscipit libero eu lorem commodo condimentum. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Nullam vel elit lobortis, pharetra nulla ac, posuere urna. Sed sed neque dui. Integer semper lacus erat, id vulputate purus gravida quis. Quisque faucibus fermentum tortor, eget consectetur ipsum venenatis ac.

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Michif

Sed sodales vehicula turpis ut iaculis. Ut facilisis neque quis erat maximus iaculis. Aliquam turpis sapien, malesuada vitae purus a, convallis lobortis lacus. Donec gravida pulvinar mauris sed dignissim. Ut malesuada porttitor feugiat. Cras interdum risus erat, a convallis neque dapibus facilisis.

Fusce finibus commodo rhoncus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Integer eleifend eleifend ligula, et cursus nibh volutpat eu. Mauris ut est dapibus, ultricies nunc in, lacinia arcu. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

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Tlingit

Vestibulum facilisis tortor malesuada quam sagittis venenatis. Integer lobortis convallis malesuada. Vestibulum consectetur bibendum diam, vel convallis tellus dignissim nec. Sed nec sollicitudin tortor. Praesent fermentum arcu in eros consequat vulputate a id urna. Sed id orci tempor, vehicula felis nec, molestie nunc.

Suspendisse vulputate auctor blandit. Duis dictum sapien fringilla magna consectetur, ac porttitor diam elementum. Mauris sed ultrices nulla. Cras accumsan cursus magna a egestas. Quisque quis nisi vitae ex vulputate molestie. Aenean tristique sit amet nisi nec bibendum. Nullam vitae velit eu lacus euismod ullamcorper. Sed viverra lectus quis nisl cursus dictum.

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Kutenai

Quisque gravida laoreet velit in lobortis. Vivamus massa dolor, eleifend vel nibh ac, interdum finibus velit. In interdum id dui et fringilla. Praesent auctor enim at sollicitudin pellentesque. Curabitur in ullamcorper nisi, non fringilla nunc. Mauris dui ligula, mattis a ullamcorper quis, semper posuere ex.

Sed gravida pharetra lectus, vehicula viverra mauris porta nec. Aenean vitae dui dictum, rhoncus nisl eget, vestibulum purus. Curabitur id posuere purus, in eleifend arcu. Aliquam neque sem, condimentum ut dui sed, egestas malesuada magna. Nulla semper felis eu leo lacinia efficitur. Praesent quis diam ac metus commodo ullamcorper et in diam.

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Haida

Phasellus vitae ipsum mollis, venenatis erat a, rhoncus elit. Ut euismod metus sed dictum pharetra. Fusce aliquam a ipsum vel congue. Etiam fermentum cursus erat vel gravida. Morbi tempus viverra dui, id egestas magna cursus nec.

Donec maximus magna sed sodales auctor. Praesent viverra dui at fermentum imperdiet. Nulla ut ex vitae turpis sagittis accumsan vitae quis urna. Donec eleifend augue at risus vehicula convallis.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus lacinia nibh id articles.

Hear more stories about dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus lacinia nibh in English.

Person Name, 23
Ojibwa
Location
Person Name2, 24
Ojibwa2
Location2
Person Name3, 25
Ojibwa3
Location3
Person Name4, 26
Ojibwa4
Location4
Person Name5, 27
Ojibwa5
Location5

A Celebration and Invitation

Discovery Language is both a celebration and an invitation: a celebration of the strength and leadership of Indigenous Peoples carrying their languages forward; and an invitation to all who call these lands home to listen, to learn, and to stand with us in ensuring that Indigenous languages are safe, vibrant, and thriving. Because when our languages rise, so, too, do the People and all our relations.

 

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Laura talks about important words in her language, learning them, and living by them – like respect, bravery, humility, to care for life around us, and to care for ourselves. She talks about the loss of their language and the negative impact that has had on her People. She stresses the importance of the language and the land, because they are healing. “Our words are so beautiful; they are so powerful, and they give us strength to stand strong and proud of who we are.”

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Levi Martin first talks about when he went to residential school and how his parents did ceremonies to prepare him and to protect him there. When he went home to see his parents the next summer, he showed them how he could speak English. But his mother pulled him aside and explained that when he is at home, he is only to speak their language, not English. The other story he shares is a story from long ago of a man and a woman who would go for many years to do ceremonies up in the mountains. He tells the story about what happens during one of these ceremonies.

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Nasookin (Chief) Joe Pierre introduces himself in Ktunaxa. While he prefers the title “Nasookin,” many people call him “Chief Joe.” Nasookin Joe Pierre describes the place where he grew up. His grandmother says the meaning in English is “the place where the two creeks meet.” Others say it means “the place where two valleys meet” or “the place of the two ram heads.” People can only see one river today; the other was buried underground when the town was built. When asked to share this story in his language, he explains that, compared to others, he is a “baby speaker” and cannot speak the language fluently. Both his parents went to residential school so he did not grow up with it. He shares a phrase that he calls a “Ktunaxa synonym.” One meaning is “I am happy today.” Another meaning is “I am grateful for today.” He says this in the morning as a prayer before starting each day.

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Isidore Campbell tells the story of how two beavers created Big Island in Île-à-la-Crosse Lake. He also tells how Île-à-la-Crosse got its name.

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Christine is explaining that when her People pray, they pray in their language because it connects them with the spiritual world. She says that we need to teach our children and talk to them in the language, because the language connects their spirituality with everyone. “It’s like the trees. They connect Mother Earth, and they hold their hands up. They are always praising the Creator.”

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Imelda and David Perley talk about many things related to their language and its connection with the land. Imelda Perley explains how the teachings from Turtle Island teach us to live in harmony with each other and how we need to “partner up” to help each other, to pool our resources, and not to fight over them. In order to keep the language strong, she says, it is our responsibility to work together “ . . . so that all our children will listen to the language of the land that they come from.” David Perley talks about the history of the Wabanaki Confederacy and how all the nations would come together, read their wampum belts, discuss governance issues, and make agreements to address any issues that may arise. Even though they have different dialects, they could understand each other. Imelda Perley also talks about the importance of Wsitqamu’k (Mount Carleton) for the Confederacy. She describes how the Chiefs would come together on the mountaintop for fasting ceremonies before making any decisions that would affect their communities.

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Mike Durocher shares a brief history of Île-à-la-Crosse, first settled as a fur trading post in the 1700’s. He also talks about Sara Riel, Louis Riel’s sister, who lived and worked in Île-à-la-Crosse for several years. He then explains why it’s important today for Cree-Michif to be taught in the home, as it was when he was young.

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Eileen Patton shares the story of the long house – how the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca – are the rooms and walls of the house, the land is the floor, and the sky is the roof.

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Joan shares the story of the “nanuq” – the polar bear – on the hill across the bay and how the polar bear turned to stone long ago.

 
Select videos to listen to by choosing a “Language Family” or “Age Group” or both.
Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages
Canadian Geographic
Design and Development by Cicada Creative Inc.