Running head: CREE SYLLABICS 1

Cree Syllabics: Creation to Computation

Dan McNeill
Royal Roads University
November 27, 2015

Author Note
This paper was prepared for COMM 345, taught by Darren Alexander.
Cree Syllabics: Creation to Computation

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While living and working in Cree communities in Northern Alberta, I often saw syllabic
script in band offices, schools, and churches. After some research, I came to the conclusion that
the immediate adoption of the syllabic script among the Cree people led to high literacy rates and
early adaptation of Cree language into digital format. From the time that the Script was
invented in 1840, it spread quickly, leading to a nearly 100% literacy rate. When computer
technology came into common usage, the widespread use of syllabics allowed for the transfer of
Cree language into textbooks and online resources in the digital age.
Brief History of Cree People
The traditional territory of the Cree people within Canada extends from the plains Cree in
modern-day Alberta to the James Bay Cree in modern-day Quebec. Traditionally relying on
hunting and fishing, Cree societies were organized around family bonds. Bands were rarely
larger than 30 people (Kuiper, 2012). Many Cree people traveled west towards Alberta during
British and French Colonization. Although there has been a shift away from traditional trapping
and fishing methods for food, there are still places where hunting and fishing remain popular.
Wild food is often given as gifts and for family meals (Berry & Bennett, 1989). The Cree culture
has gone through many changes and hardships as a result of colonization. The Cree nation is
currently the largest First Nations group in Canada (Preston, 2012). In 2011, Statistics Canada
counted 77,000 Cree language speakers in their household survey (2011).
After initial European contact, many fur traders adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
Traders would travel with their family groups through the warmer months and spend the winters
close to a trading post. These new groups brought together many traditionally smaller groups and
expanded the range (Kuiper, 2012).

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The Cree language and culture is an oral tradition. Lessons in the form of stories are
passed down from generation to generation. The knowledge that is passed down often involves a
sense of spirituality and connection to the earth. The people thanked Mother earth daily through
prayer, rituals, and ceremonies using the language given to them (Daniels-Fiss, 2008).
Traditional Cree cultural concepts have an emphasis on putting others before self and
consequently the ability to rely on the group during hard times (Kuiper, 2012).
Creation of Syllabics
Reverend James Evans is often credited with the creation of both Ojibwa and Cree
language syllabics from 1830-40. Many scholars consider him a genius, despite the many
controversies during his life (Peel, 1974). The Hudsons Bay Company accused Evans of sexual
impropriety, and he accidentally shot his guide and interpreter, Thomas Hassal (Hengstler, 2003).
Throughout his life, he was determined to spread Christian doctrine to First Nations people by
translating texts into their language (Comaroff & Comaroff, 1991). He believed that it was
necessary for Aboriginal people to have a distinct script because their language was so different
from English (Hengstler, 2003). Although, we must remember with any colonial history that we
are often hearing a biased view.
There is a call from the Aboriginal community for a balanced Aboriginal perspective on
the development of syllabics (Stevenson, 2000). One alternative story is the idea that the
Creator gave a syllabary system to an Old One in the early 1800s. This syllabary system was said
to have come from the spirit world as a gift (Daniels-Fiss, 2008). There are also reports of early
Cree syllabics before Evans, a stone tablet with syllabics was reportedly found in 1731.
Regardless, there is evidence in Evans work of extensive adaptation, and expansion (Hengstler,
2003).

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The system is referred to as syllabics because for the most part each character stands
for a single syllable (Cree Cultural Institute, 2015). The individual characters represent the
consonant sound, while the four directions they are rotated in represent the following vowel
sound. There are extra symbols for consonant syllables consonant characters, and stand-alone
vowels (Cree Cultural Institute, 2015).
See Appendix for a Cree syllabics chart.
Dissemination of Syllabics
The communal Cree method of teaching facilitated the spread of the new script so well
that up until 80 years ago the Cree-speaking people had a nearly 100% literacy rate, much higher
than European colonists (Berry & Bennett, 1989). Only 10 years after invention, missionaries
traveling in James Bay reported that all adults could read and write (Berry & Bennett, 1989).
This is an incredible feat, as there were no formal schools, pens, or paper. As late as 1989, twothirds of the Cree population could read and write syllabics (Berry & Bennett, 1989).
The Cree people used the script in a similar way as English-speaking people use the
alphabet. They sent letters, kept diaries, wrote notices, recorded family births and deaths.
(Berry & Bennett, 1989). It is only in recent years that literature was produced in syllabics
because the nomadic Cree lifestyle had little use for large libraries of work (Berry & Bennett,
1989).
Historic Recurrence
Crowley & Heyer (2007) emphasize that naming things was seen as conveying power
among pre-literate people. This is especially true among the Cree where naming is an important
ceremony, marking different stages of life (Daniels-Fiss, 2008). The syllabic script and the
Christian religion have been inextricably linked since the invention of the script. Syllabics were

CREE SYLLABICS 5
originally invented to spread the word of God. To this day, there are still bibles and hymnals in
Cree syllabics printed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. There are still
services entirely in Cree that follow books written in syllabics (Berry & Bennett, 1989).
Through the division of people and segregation of scriptural knowledge, the church in
Canada was able to exercise power in a similar way that the Church had in Europe in the Middle
Ages. Although the printing press had been invented previous to colonization, First Nations
people were not able to use them. The only documents printed in Cree were approved religious
texts. The Catholic Church began putting out calendars in syllabics so that Cree people would
know when religious holidays were, which is reminiscent of the clocks being used in the Middle
Ages to control people, by holding them accountable. Crowley & Heyer (2007) put an emphasis
on the social power gained through the use of the catholic confessional. This form of social
control was used extensively among the Cree population. Although Colonialist officials knew
that most Cree people could write in syllabics, they were still expected to sign the treaties with
an X (Daniels-Fiss, 2008).
Syllabics in Schools
By 2001, the Cree School Board managed to successfully implement Cree language
education in the school system, not only as a means of teaching the language, but as a form of
communicating a broad variety of ideas (Mackenzie & Jancewicz, 2002). There are still many
people who use the script daily for practical purposes, even though there is no large body of
literature to read (Berry & Bennett, 1989)
Older people generally learned their use of syllabics from a family member, while
younger people who can read syllabics often report learning from a teacher in a formal setting
(Berry & Bennett, 1989). In the 1970s, language learning programs involving the use of

CREE SYLLABICS 6
syllabics to teach Cree language were introduced, unfortunately, they did little to stop the rapid
decline of language use among Cree people (Berry & Bennett, 1989)
Computer Technology
In the 1970s, linguists began trying to input East Cree languages into their databases. It
took a long time and needed the help of programmers who were not linguists and lived away
from the communities, resulting in lost data and mistranslation (Mackenzie & Jancewicz, 2002).
There were many different systems and technologies of varying success in the 1970s and 1980s,
but it took until 1994, when Microsoft Windows began to be widely used that the graphic
interface allowed Cree speakers to fully utilize the power of computers (Mackenzie & Jancewicz,
2002).
There were so many different ways of encoding the Cree syllabics across the different
communities and platforms that there was a danger of them not working together. The Unicode
Consortium was formed to address this problem. Unicode is being used more and more
frequently to deal with this issue across the world. (Unicode, 2015)
Unfortunately the use of Cree language is on the decline (Preston, 2012). Syllabics are
now being used online by various groups lead by linguists, teachers, and community members to
make interactive learning games, such as the online game from the School of Linguistics and
Language Studies (2015), a Cree syllabics translator from the Algonquin Linguistic Atlas (2014),
and a downloadable set of syllabics for home PC from eastcree.org (2015).
Conclusion
I recognize that it is impossible to give an accurate summary of an entire community. For
this reason I relied heavily on the accuracy of my sources. For the next research paper I write
about First Nations culture I will include members of the First Nations community in the process.

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Paige Raibmons introduction to Written As I Remember It (Paul, 2014) is an inspiration to me
because it goes into detail about how she listened deeply to the elder she is learning from, in
order to truly express her thoughts. All of my sources are peer-reviewed, but I would like to be
sure that what I write is not only true, but written about in a good way.
Before researching, I did not understand how prevalent the Cree syllabic script was.
While the phonetic alphabet took hundreds of years to take hold, the syllabic script took only 10
years to spread to almost total use among Cree people. While Cree is the most spoken First
Nations language in Canada, the language itself is on the decline. Russ Rhymer says that one
language dies every 14 days (2012). It is up to the communities, school boards, and linguists to
ensure that the language does not get lost. I am interested to see what develops as online
databases, and interactivity improve.

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Appendix

Cree Cultural Institute, 2015

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References

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http://resources.atlas-ling.ca/cree-syllabics-convertor/
Berry, J. W., & Bennett, J. A. (1989). Syllabic literacy and cognitive performance among the
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Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (1991). Of revelation and revolution: Christianity, colonialism, and
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Cree Cultural Institute. (2015). About Cree syllabics. Retrieved from
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Crowley, J., & Heyer, P. (2007). Communication in history: Technology, culture, society (5th
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Kuiper, K. (2012). Native American tribes: American Indians of the arctic, subarctic, and
Northwest coast. Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

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Mackenzie, M., & Jancewicz, B. (2002). Applied computer technology in Cree and Naskapi
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