Episode 8: Dr. Kevin Brousseau

Kevin Brousseau’s interest in linguistics was sparked as a child when he browsed a list of Proto-Indo-European roots in a dictionary. A member of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi in northern Quebec, Kevin went on to develop dictionaries of his own in the Cree language, including the Dictionary of Moose Cree. As a 35-year-old, he switched paths and went to medical school and now practices family medicine in Oujé-Bougoumou.

In this episode, Kevin talks about his journey growing up not speaking Cree but hearing it, studying linguistics, and surviving a brain tumour while going to medical school. Later, he talks about how dialects evolve, how Cree is different from English, and a suggestion on what communities can do to preserve the language.

Also, Lenny shares the excitement of niska pîsîm (goose moon, aka April) and the impending arriving of Canada geese to the James Bay coast. He talks about doing conjugation exercises on Learn Moose Cree online learning platform and how his syllabics have improved.

About our guest: Kevin Brousseau is a lexicographer of Cree known for his dictionaries of Moose Cree and East Cree. He also maintains a lexical database on the Abitibi dialect of Anishinabe with plans to publish a dictionary. In the past he has undertaken linguistic fieldwork in other Cree dialects such as Eastern Swampy Cree, Atikamekw, and Western Innu. Aside from lexicography, his interests include dialectology and historical linguistics. He is a Wāswānipīwiyiniw (Waswanipi Cree) and lives in Oujé-Bougoumou (woo-ji boogimoo), a small Cree community where he practices full-time as a family doctor.

Lexical Roots of Old Cree – An Etymological Dictionary. University of Ottawa Press, or Amazon and Indigo. Or go to www.oldcree.com

Moose Cree dictionary: www.moosecree.ca or contact geraldine.govender@moosecree.com

Blog: https://creelanguage.wordpress.com

Apisheesh is supported by the Indigenous Screen Office

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