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NWTMtisNationrevitalizingCreethroughmusicContemporaryalbumtofeatureATribeCalledRedKASPIskwewSingers20TuesdayNovember112014ARTSCULTUREMUSICAnnualGeneralAssemblyNorthwestTerritoryMtisNationJOINUSATTHERoaringRapidsHallinFORTSMITHNovember18212014FormoreinformationpleasecontactNWTMtisNation25CamsellStreetFortSmithNT867872-2770ByDALICARMICHAELIfCreespeakersintheNorthwestTerri-torieswereprotectedunderAt-Risklegisla-tiontheywouldbelabelledasendangered.Recentstudieshavefoundtherearebe-tween190and220peoplewhospeakthetraditionallanguageintheterritoryandthemajorityofthemareaging10percentareundertheageof18while68percentareatleast40orolder.InanefforttoreversethetrendtheNorth-westTerritoryMtisNationhasdecidedtoampuplanguagerevitalizationprogrammingbyintroducingmodernlanguagelearningre-sourcesstartingwithacompilationalbumfeaturing2014JunoBreakoutArtistawardwinnersATribeCalledRed.WeviewlanguageasbeingintegralforthatconnectiontoculturesaidKyleNapierCreeLanguageManagerwiththeNWTMtisNation.Theresalotofin-teractivitybetweenthelanguagethatwespeakandhowyouidentifywiththeworldaroundyou.Thatswhywerunactivitieslikethisandthatswhythesetypesofprojectsarenecessarytheyallowyouthtoreconnectwiththeircultureandtheirheritageandmaybetheycanfindtheirownsenseofidentity.InadditiontotheOttawa-basedAlgon-quinelectronicgroupthealbumwillcon-sistofablendofvoicesfromacrossthecountryincludingAboriginalPeoplesChoiceAwardsperformerslikerapperRobertKASPSawanandtheIskwewSingers.NapierisalsolookingtoinvolvelocalmusiciansfromtheNWT.VeronicaJohnnyatraditionaldrummerandsingerofrockbandTheJohnnysoriginallyhailsfromFortSmithandhasalreadysignedontotheproject.AmajorityofthealbumwillcontainoriginalpiecesfromtheartistsorexistingsongsthattheMtisNationstranslatorMaryCardinalwillreworkwithCreelyrics.Thesongswillincludelinguisticelementsfromthenorth-ernBushCreedialectaswellasthesouth-ernPlainsCreeNapiersaidasthetwoarequitesimilar.CreatingawealthofresourcesInadditiontothealbumNapierhassetintomotionadocumentaryfeaturingde-scendantsofCreespeakersfromacrosstheNorththatsharestheexperiencesthatledthemtolosetheirlanguage.Healsohasbigplanstorolloutanimatedfeaturesandlive-actionperformancesinthefuture.TheideaistopopularizetheendangeredlanguageforyouthNapiersaid.Therearealotofculturalprogramsthatprovidelearn-inginCreeyetwerestillseeingadeclineinthenumberofyounglanguagespeakers.PartoftheproblemNapiersaidarethetypesofresourcesavailabletoCreelearners.Amajorityoftheexistingbooksandrecord-ingsaregearedtowardsstudentsinGrade4andunderatwhichpointmostschoolsstoptheirlanguageprogramsorsimplymakethemoptional.Napierandhisteamhopethatbycre-atingeducationalresourcesdisguisedwithel-ementsofcontemporaryentertainmentmoreyouthwillbeinclinedtopickupthelanguage.TheprojectisbeingfundedentirelybytheNWTMtisNationmeaningthatallcontrib-utingartistswillhavetheirtravelproduc-tionandlicencingfeescovered.InadditionNapieraformerevent-productiontechsaidup-and-comingartistswillhavethechoicetousetheMtisNationsrecordingequipment.Thenishedproductisexpectedtobecom-pletedbyMarch2015.Hisonlyconcernisthepossibleclashofmoderntechnologywithtraditionalideas.ThereisalotofcontentionoverwhatistraditionalknowledgeandwhytheseretakesmightbeanissueNapiersaid.Withcon-temporaryaudiovisualapplicationsthatATribeCalledRedwoulddealwithtakingtheseremixedversionsoftraditionalsongs-isthatanacceptableformofhandlingthelanguageIthinkitsjustiablebecausesomethingisbeingdonetohelppopularizethelanguagebuttheremightbediscrepancyinthatwithelderswhomightnotnditappropriate.AtthistimehoweverNapiersaidheandhispartnershaveonlyreceivedwholeheartedsupportfortheireffortstoinjectnewlifeintotheendangeredlanguage.PhotoDaliCarmichaelKyleNapierCreeLanguageManagerwiththeNWTMtisNationisheadingupnewinitiativesincludingacollaborativeCreealbuminanefforttorevitalizethelanguage.