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Vancouver, British Columbia, September 5, 2024 — The BC Métis Federation (BCMF) is proud to launch the largest available Michif-French online glossary as part of its efforts to revitalize the endangered Métis language.
BCMF’s Michif-French online glossary was developed in close consultation with fluent Michif speakers Rene Thierren, Francis Fisher and Earl Belcourt. The glossary contains over 2,000 words and phrases, and includes audio clips to help with pronunciation. The glossary is intended for new Michif speakers or for those who are looking to regain or improve their fluency.
“I’m overjoyed that this hard-working team has been able to compile such a comprehensive list of Michif-French terms,” said BCMF President Keith Henry. “It represents an important step towards supporting a strong Métis identity in British Columbia, and making culture and language accessible to those who’ve previously been denied access to that part of their identity.”
The United Nations classifies Michif as a “critically endangered” language. The Michif-French is the product of long contact between Cree and Ojibwe speakers and francophone traders. Their offspring — the Métis — are said to have created the language on the plains in the early 1800s by blending Cree and French.
Due to the assimilationist policies of colonization, Michif-French speakers were forced to learn the languages of the colonizers and the language nearly went extinct. BCMF is dedicated to righting these wrongs, and the launch of the glossary on Michif.ca is part of that process.
To view the glossary, visit Michif.ca/glossary.
