Sharing her knowledge of Saulteaux language was a challenge Natalie Langan knew she had to face. 

Now she’s being acknowledged as an official language keeper. 

Langan is a learner, teacher and keeper of Saulteaux. She shares her knowledge not only in classrooms but globally on an Indigenous language podcast called pîkiskwêwin, which means “language” in Cree.

“I knew that this was going to be the opportunity that I needed to bring my language back to life,” said Langan, who grew up in Fishing Lake First Nation, about 200 kilometres northeast of Regina.

She grew up with her paternal grandmother, Marjorie Kayseas who didn’t speak, read or write English. She only knew Saulteaux and the Saulteaux way. 

“We didn’t know that we were living this incredible experience at the time,” Langan said of being raised by her grandmother. “It was just full of knowledge, full of love and security and teachings.” 

Langan and her grandmother had a special bond, made stronger from speaking Saulteaux. Her grandmother died 20 years ago. A few years after Kayseas’ death, Langan noticed her own language fluency began to decline. 

“It wasn’t alive within me anymore,” Langan said.

“We all knew then when she passed she was going to take a lot of that (knowledge) with her.”

That would change when Langan saw a Facebook post in June of 2020 by Shannon Avison, a professor at the First Nations University of Canada, looking for Indigenous language speakers. 

Avison, now project supervisor of the podcast, had a vision of an Indigenous language lifestyle podcast. Langan was immediately on board and a year later, pîkiskwêwin was born.

Their mission statement is: “We amplify Indigenous languages to preserve and pass them on to the next generation.”

They have podcasts in various languages: Cree, Dakota, Dene, Lakota, Nakota, Michif and Saulteaux. They cover a variety of topics like cooking, art, traditional knowledge and storytelling, prayer, leadership and architecture. 

Langan’s first podcast is called Akāni-nīkānītan, which means leadership in Saulteaux, which is also the focus of the podcast. She interviewed members of her family and other knowledge keepers who had a strong influence on her life. 

Her latest podcast is called Beginner Saulteaux Lessons. This podcast was created as a resource for Langan’s Saulteaux language classes. Her students wanted a place to turn for extra practice. 

She started teaching online classes in July 2022, via Zoom. The classes, which run for an hour once a week, are growing with each session.

“It’s been rewarding,” said Langan.

“People are really engaged in learning the language and want to learn more.” 

Campbell Stevenson, a journalism student at the University of Regina and producer for pîkiskwêwin, worked on Langan’s newest podcast. He is proud to work with Indigenous languages and hopes to help a future generation of learners. 

“It’s so cool to see your Indigenous language being spoken very publicly,” said Stevenson. “More people are wanting to learn. Non-Indigenous as well, it doesn’t matter.”

While being a knowledge keeper put Langan out of her comfort zone initially, she said it’s been fun and rewarding. She’s closer now with her father, who continues to help her language knowledge. Passing on this knowledge is something she does not want to lose. 

“It’s a gift that I’m not only returning and giving back with our people, but everything is full circle here,” Langan said.

“I’m giving it back to my late grandmother, you know, because all of this is possible only because she taught me all of this.”

Featured image: Natalie Langan from pîkiskwêwin‘s YouTube channel.