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What do you think of me, Dad,
writing this in Cree?
Could there have been more room
for a Cree conversation,
for a Cree understanding,
for a daughter's understanding
her father's honour
in the space between, tawâyihk,
your childhood and your passing.
Is it enough that I've
cleared a space on my desk
to light this candle for you?
Would that I could
have made more room.
nipakosêyimon kahkî-tawinamâtân.
Through poems that move between the two languages, McIlwraith explores the beauty of the intersection between nêhiyawêwin, the Plains Cree language, and English, âkayâsîmowin. Written to honour her father's facility in nêhiyawêwin and her mother's beauty and generosity as an inheritor of Cree, Ojibwe, Scottish, and English, kiyâm articulates a powerful yearning for family, history, peace, and love.
About this Author
Naomi McIlwraith is an educator, poet, and essayist, with a mixed Cree, Ojibwe, Scottish, and English inheritance. She currently works at Grant MacEwan University and has held instructional positions at the University of Alberta and the King's University College.
Reviews
In a clear and engaging voice, McIlwraith provides an intriguing view of a woman and a writer navigating the pathways between the European literary tradition and the oral tradition of the First Nations and Métis, negotiating these two vastly different linguistic worlds.
- Jenna Butler, MacEwan University
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