[grc] First Nations/Métis/Inuit Word-of-the-Day PSAs

[Frieda Werden]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ophira Horwitz <hunnybear at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 23, 2015 at 4:28 PM
Subject: [ncramembers] Ideas Thursday: First Nations/Métis/Inuit
Word-of-the-Day PSAs
To: NCRA Members <ncramembers at ncra.ca>


Today’s Idea comes from Sandy Lake First Nation, where I’m living for eight
months and helping community members learn how to make radio!

Here in Sandy Lake, there’s lots of talk about talking in Oji-Cree. I
recently hosted a community forum for people to talk about local issues
that they would like to hear about on the local community radio station.
Language was a hot topic. One man who attended the forum explained to me
that traditional knowledge in the community is currently passed on by oral
tradition, and there is no permanent record of the memories of elders.
There is less and less contact between youth and elders, and as the elders
pass away, their stories are lost. Part of the reason is because fewer
youth speak Oji-Cree than ever before. Some teenage girls who were at the
forum expressed that they would love to learn the language but there are
few opportunities for them to do so. Currently, the only way to learn
Oji-Cree in Sandy Lake is if you’re lucky enough to have a family member
who can speak the language with you, or if you're an elementary school
student who is registered in the morning language class. I just reached the
three month mark of living here and I’ve only been able to pick up the odd
word here and there.

Since so many people in the community love the idea of learning Oji-Cree,
we came up with the idea of broadcasting word-of-the-day PSAs on the radio.
These minute-long segments are meant to inspire new speakers of Oji-Cree,
and help the remaining speakers sharpen their language skills and become
even more fluent. We envisioned the PSA as a conversation between a youth
and an elder: the elder says a word, the youth tries to repeat it, and then
they both talk about what the word means and how to use it. In addition, we
have a pre-scripted (and pre-recorded) end to each PSA about how to get
involved in radio in both English and Oji-Cree. Once the segment is
recorded, the recruitment script can easily be put on. In this way, we use
the PSAs as both a teaching tool and as a tool to recruit Oji-Cree
speakers. We are hoping that this project will help involve both seniors
and youth at the station.

Today, we recorded a PSA for the first time. This summer, I’m collaborating
with the youth literacy camp to teach radio workshops to the kids. Myrna,
one of the counsellors, is an elderly woman who teaches Oji-Cree at the
elementary school. What a perfect fit! I taught Myrna how to work the Zoom
and she was off! She decided to teach the kids a whole sentence. Myrna
chose the words “come,” “sit,” and “listen." Put together, they make the
sentence, “Come here, sit down, and listen.” Very, very useful! The kids
were a bit restless and shuffled and whispered a lot, but they were into
it, and we got it all done! Next session, we’re going to edit the sound and
layer in some music. I put some markers into the file to show them the
spots where they were making noise. :)

I edited the recording myself just to show you what we’re up to:
http://cowbird.com/story/116465/OjiCree_WordoftheDay/
<http://cowbird.com/story/116465/OjiCree_WordoftheDay/?saved=1>

We're going to broadcast the PSA for the first time during the Youth
Council show this weekend (a program featuring homework-related call-in
games for iTunes gift cards and the occasional raffle for bananas). If all
goes well, Myrna would like to keep making these PSAs with her students
throughout the school year. Since proposing this project, I’ve had two more
elders and their grandchildren express an interest in getting involved. A
family production would be pretty great!

This PSA could maybe be an interesting idea for stations to explore for the
Airtime for Seniors grant opportunity. Food for thought and fingers crossed.

We had a bit of time left at the end of the workshop, so just for fun, we
sang O Canada in Oji-Cree. Check it out:
http://cowbird.com/story/116466/O_Canada_In_OjiCree/

Want to hear more great ideas about volunteer recruitment, retention, and
coordination? We’re starting a monthly “Ideas Thursday” style feature on
the Volunteer Coordination list serve called “Motivation Mondays." We’ve
got some very exciting articles coming up about engaging volunteers outside
of 9-5 staff hours, setting up a news department, coordinating grade school
students to produce a podcast, and more! If you wanna get in on this, *ask
Luke (**luke at ncra.ca* <luke at ncra.ca>*) to add you to the *
*volunteer at ncra.ca* <volunteer at ncra.ca>* list serve!*
ᐧ

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-- 
Frieda Werden, Series Producer
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org