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Are you an Indigenous language speaker? Are you currently enrolled in ARTS190, Introduction to Mohawk Language course? Are you interested in learning about other Indigenous languages and syllabics?
Special Collections & Archives has recently acquired 7 new items in Algonquin and Iroquoian Languages including Cree, Oneida, Ojibwe, and Seneca. Seneca and Oneida are severely endangered languages with only a few hundred fluent speakers each.
Of particular interest is the below shown Prayer Book. Although the title page indicates that the work is Oneida, a note in Pilling's "Bibliography of the Iroquoian Languages" notes that although the work is intelligible to those who speak Oneida, it does not appear to be written in any known dialect.
Prayer Book in Oneida, 1837, F2528
Cree Hymn Book, 1888, F25280
If you would like to brush up on your language skills before coming to view the items, there are number of excellent online resources such as Learn Our Language, operated by the Oneida Language and Cultural Centre in Southwold, Ontario; Onöndowa'ga:' Gawë:nö', operated by the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York; Anishinaabemowin, operated by a collaboration of Anishinabe Tribes in Minnesota (Ojibwe learning); the My Cree App, related to the award-winning APTN television series Tansi! Nehiyawetan.
Ojebway Hymns, [ca. 1870], F25286
Psalm of David in Seneca, [ca. 1880], F25282
If you know of any other great resources for language learning, let us know! And if you'd like to read some of our new materials, we'd love to see you in the archives!
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Dana Porter Library, first floor
University of Waterloo Library
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
519-888-4567 x32619 or x32445
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office.