Vincent Collette
I am professor of linguistics at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) since 2021. I obtained my PhD in linguistics in 2014 from Université Laval. I am interested in the Indigenous languages of Canada: Plains Cree, Moose Cree, and East Cree (Algonquian), as well as Nakoda and Dakota (Siouan). I also did a lot of fieldwork on Southern Auvernhat (Romance) an endangered language spoken in southern France. I published on a wide variety of topics including: historical semantics, language change, verbs of speaking, template morphology, code-switching, and linguistic acculturation. I was highly involved with the Nakoda communities of Pheasant Rump First Nation (Saskatchewan) and Carry The Kettle (Saskatchewan) in revitalizing the endangered Nakoda language.
Supervisors: Patrick Duffley
Supervisors: Patrick Duffley
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Résumé : Cette note de recherche vise à exposer des contextes interactifs (langues d’usage à la maison et en forêt) qui motivent la rétention de la langue crie à Mistissini, communauté crie de l’est de la baie James, et ce, en dépit des importants changements socio-économiques des dernières décennies.
Drafts
This report, requested under a joint initiative of the Commission scolaire de la Baie-James and the Cree School Board, is aiming at four objectives: (1) identify the needs and preferences of the Crees from Eeyou Istchee with regard to education and technical training related to the mining, construction, forest and energy sectors, as well as to the land-based employment and activities; (2) place these needs in the current socio-economic and demographic environment; (3) weigh up the socio-economic viability of said training and employment areas; and, finally, (4) probe the Crees’ attitude towards the various job opportunities and the employability alternatives available in their region.
Our study is based on interviews conducted in June and July 2010, as well as on a review of potential socio-economic development avenues in Northern Québec. In a broader manner, we tried to highlight the anthropology dimension of training Crees, especially in taking into account parameters such as the mobility on the territory, the hazards related to the training location and duration, and the challenges of the Crees’ lack of schooling regarding major projects such as the ones put forward by the Plan Nord.
We acknowledge many facts. First, it is difficult for most Crees to get the necessary academic prerequisites (Secondary IV or V) for some training programs that are currently offered to them, which prevents them from accessing courses leading to qualification. Given this situation, the Crees find it extremely difficult to persevere in a DVS type of system, which is considered as restricting. Also, the Crees’ low schooling rate and their difficulties with the language of instruction delay and, in some cases, compromise the arrival of youth aged 15 to 24 on the job market. Finally, the Crees are highly affected by the on-going decrease in the number of people who practice hunting, fishing, trapping, harvesting and native arts and crafts activities, which are crucial for the Cree culture.
This study highlights the necessity to implement school programs (RAC, STC or DVS types) that would promote courses leading to qualification that could both meet the identified needs and increase the second language literacy level of the Crees. The Crees seem to be particularly interested in the land-based employment and activities (tourism, hunting, fishing, trapping, harvesting, native arts and crafts, as well as management and conservation of wildlife and flora) sector and in the construction, mining and forest industries. Besides targeting some technical jobs from the mining sector that could be the subject of customized training programs, we have also considered the occupations of environmental officer, mining explorer, carpenter-joiner and silvicultural worker because we believe these fields allow us to tie technical and traditional knowledge together.
Résumé : Cette note de recherche vise à exposer des contextes interactifs (langues d’usage à la maison et en forêt) qui motivent la rétention de la langue crie à Mistissini, communauté crie de l’est de la baie James, et ce, en dépit des importants changements socio-économiques des dernières décennies.
This report, requested under a joint initiative of the Commission scolaire de la Baie-James and the Cree School Board, is aiming at four objectives: (1) identify the needs and preferences of the Crees from Eeyou Istchee with regard to education and technical training related to the mining, construction, forest and energy sectors, as well as to the land-based employment and activities; (2) place these needs in the current socio-economic and demographic environment; (3) weigh up the socio-economic viability of said training and employment areas; and, finally, (4) probe the Crees’ attitude towards the various job opportunities and the employability alternatives available in their region.
Our study is based on interviews conducted in June and July 2010, as well as on a review of potential socio-economic development avenues in Northern Québec. In a broader manner, we tried to highlight the anthropology dimension of training Crees, especially in taking into account parameters such as the mobility on the territory, the hazards related to the training location and duration, and the challenges of the Crees’ lack of schooling regarding major projects such as the ones put forward by the Plan Nord.
We acknowledge many facts. First, it is difficult for most Crees to get the necessary academic prerequisites (Secondary IV or V) for some training programs that are currently offered to them, which prevents them from accessing courses leading to qualification. Given this situation, the Crees find it extremely difficult to persevere in a DVS type of system, which is considered as restricting. Also, the Crees’ low schooling rate and their difficulties with the language of instruction delay and, in some cases, compromise the arrival of youth aged 15 to 24 on the job market. Finally, the Crees are highly affected by the on-going decrease in the number of people who practice hunting, fishing, trapping, harvesting and native arts and crafts activities, which are crucial for the Cree culture.
This study highlights the necessity to implement school programs (RAC, STC or DVS types) that would promote courses leading to qualification that could both meet the identified needs and increase the second language literacy level of the Crees. The Crees seem to be particularly interested in the land-based employment and activities (tourism, hunting, fishing, trapping, harvesting, native arts and crafts, as well as management and conservation of wildlife and flora) sector and in the construction, mining and forest industries. Besides targeting some technical jobs from the mining sector that could be the subject of customized training programs, we have also considered the occupations of environmental officer, mining explorer, carpenter-joiner and silvicultural worker because we believe these fields allow us to tie technical and traditional knowledge together.