Belinda Daniels facts for kids

Belinda kakiyosēw Daniels is a nēhiyaw Canadian teacher and language helper. She is well-known for her work to teach and bring back the nēhiyawēwin language.

Early Life and Learning

Belinda Daniels is part of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation, SK. Her grandparents raised her. She heard nēhiyawēwin Cree spoken often when she was young. However, she was not encouraged to speak it herself. This was because her grandparents had to go to residential schools. There, they faced punishment for speaking their Indigenous language. They did not want Belinda to go through the same thing.

Later, while working at a high school, Belinda heard others speaking nēhiyawēwin Cree. This inspired her to learn the language herself. In 2021, she earned her PhD from the University of Saskatchewan. Her special project was called ē-kakwē nēhiyaw pimātisiyān ōta nīkihk – The Lifelong Journey Home.

Teaching and Language Work

Dr. Daniels teaches at the University of Victoria in the Indigenous education department. Before this, she taught for nine years at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon. She also taught at the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan.

In 2003, Dr. Daniels started a Cree summer camp. People came to the camp to learn and practice speaking the language. She got the idea for the camp from her own studies and from raising her family. She also felt frustrated that there was no Cree language program in her province.

The nēhiyawak Summer Language Program happens in different parts of Saskatchewan each year. By 2017, it had grown from 5 people to 27 people. In 2020, she told the CBC why learning Indigenous languages again is so important. She said, "When we get our language back, we get back who we are. We show that we belong here. So, language is practicing sovereignty." Since 2017, the camp has grown even more. Now, 25 to 50 people attend each year. There is even a children's camp! The program now offers online classes and in-person sessions. These include a Master-Apprentice program and classes to practice speaking and listening.

Awards and Recognition

Belinda Daniels has received many awards for her important work:

• Outstanding Canadian Aboriginal Educator Award (2015)
• U of S’s Graduate Aboriginal Research Excellence Award (2015)
• Global Teacher Prize - Top 50 Finalist (2016)
• Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations’ Strength of Our Women Award in Education (2016)
• Lieutenant Governor Heritage Saskatchewan Award for Community Development (2018)
• Nominated for Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations’ Strength of Our Women Award in Language and Culture (2021)

More Information

To learn more about language camps or bringing language into your home, visit: nehiyawak.org