By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press ‘Minawaanigoziwin” is the Ojibwe concept that comes to mind for Sherri Denysuik when the Winnipeg teacher is asked about her thoughts on a new law that raises the status of Indigenous languages in schools. That term is roughly translated to “one who is happy and joyous.” Denysuik, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation, is trying to learn words many of her ancestors were banned from speaking and, in many cases, punished for uttering inside a residential school. Recent changes to Manitoba’s Public Schools Act are expected to make it easier for future generations to become fluent in Indigenous languages. Bill 18 places Ojibwe, Cree and others in the company of Canada’s official languages in the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 system. It allows…
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