Freda Ahenakew (February 11, 1932 – April 8, 2011) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
author and academic of
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
descent. Ahenakew was considered a leader in Indigenous language preservation and literary heritage preservation in Canada. She was a sister-in-law to the political activist
David Ahenakew
David Ahenakew (July 28, 1933 – March 12, 2010) was a Canadian First Nations ( Cree) politician, and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Ahenakew was born at the Sandy Lake Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan. He and his wife, ...
.
Biography
Freda Ahenakew was born in
Ahtahkakoop
Ahtahkakoop ( Cree: ''Atāhkakohp'', "Starblanket")(c. 1816 – 1896) was a Chief of the House Cree (''Wāskahikaniwiyiniwak'') division of the Plains Cree, who led his people through the transition from hunter and warrior to farmer, and from trad ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, the second of eight children. Her parents were Edward and Annie ( Bird) Ahenakew.Ahenakew, Freda Saskatchewan Archival Information Network She spent some of her teenage years living at St. Alban's Residential School in Prince Albert, and attended the Prince Albert Collegiate Institute.
Ahenakew married Harold Greyeyes (who attended
Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School
Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School (Q.I.R.S.) or Qu'Appelle Industrial School was a Canadian residential school in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan. As one of the early residential schools in western Canada, it was operated from 1884 to 1969 ...
, then worked with the Saskatchewan Indian Agricultural Program through
FSIN
The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN, Russian: Федеральная служба исполнения наказаний (ФСИН), ''Federalnaya Sluzhba Ispolneniya Nakazaniy'') is a federal agency of the Ministry of Justice of Russia r ...
) from the
Muskeg Lake Cree Nation
The Muskeg Lake Cree Nation ( cr, script=Cans, ᒪᐢᑫᑯ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, ) is a Cree First Nation band government in Marcelin, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Muskeg Lake Cree Nation is affiliated with the Saskatoon Tribal Council, along with ...
(which henceforth made her a member of the same), and together they had 12 children. She would later return to follow her educational goals in 1968, where she attended
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
with 9 of her children. In 1979, she obtained her
Bachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...
from the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
while teaching
Cree language
Cree (also known as Cree– Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador. If considered one language, it is th ...
. Her marriage to Greyeyes ended the same year. Between 1976 and 1981, she found employment teaching at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College, the Lac La Ronge Band, and the Saskatchewan Survival School (now the Joe Duquette High School) in Saskatoon.
In 1984, she received a Master of Arts in Cree linguistics from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. working closely with Professor H.C. Wolfart. Her Master's thesis, "Cree Language Structures", was later published. From 1983 to 1985, she was an assistant professor in the Native Studies department of University of Saskatchewan. She was the director of the Saskatchewan Indian Languages Institute from 1985 until 1989. After leading the institute, she was a professor in Native studies at the University of Manitoba until her 1996 retirement.
Ahenakew has been the recipient of numerous honorary awards including an
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. She was made a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
in 1998 and was awarded the
Saskatchewan Order of Merit
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit (french: Ordre du Mérite de la Saskatchewan) is a civilian Award, honour for merit in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor of Saska ...
* ''Cree Language Structures: A Cree Approach. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press'' (1987)
*"wâskahikaniwiyiniw-âcimowina / Stories of the House People. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press" (1987) Coeditor.
* ''How the Birch Tree Got its Stripes: A Cree Story for Children'' (1988)
* ''How the Mouse Got Brown Teeth: A Cree Story for Children'' (1988)
*''kôhkominawak otâcimowiniwâwa / Our Grandmothers' Lives, as Told in Their Own Words.'' Told by Glecia Bear et al. Edited and translated by F. Ahenakew & H.C. Wolfart. Saskatoon: Fifth House Publishers, 1992. acsimile reprint, with new preface: Canadian Plains Reprint Series, Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina, 1998
*''kinêhiyâwiwininaw nêhiyawêwin / The Cree Language is Our Identity: The La Ronge Lectures of Sarah Whitecalf.'' Edited, translated and with a glossary by H.C. Wolfart & F. Ahenakew. Publications of the Algonquian Text Society / Collection de la Société d'édition de textes algonquiens. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1993.
*''kwayask ê-kî-pê-kiskinowâpahtihicik / Their Example Showed Me the Way: A Cree Woman's Life Shaped by Two Cultures.'' Told by Emma Minde. Edited, translated and with a glossary by F. Ahenakew & H.C. Wolfart. Edmonton, University of Alberta Press, 1997.
*''The Student's Dictionary of Literary Plains Cree, Based on Contemporary Texts.'' with H.C. Wolfart. Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, Memoir 15, 1998.
* ''Wisahkecahk Flies to the Moon'' (1999)
*''âh-âyîtaw isi ê-kî-kiskêyihtahkik maskihkiy / They Knew Both Sides of Medicine: Cree Tales of Curing and Cursing Told by Alice Ahenakew.'' Edited, translated and with a glossary by H.C. Wolfart & Freda Ahenakew. Publications of the Algonquian Text Society / Collection de la Société d'édition de textes algonquiens. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2000.
*''ana kâ-pimwêwêhahk okakêskihkêmowina / The Counselling Speeches of Jim Kâ-Nîpitêhtêw.'' Edited, translated and with a glossary by F. Ahenakew & H.C. Wolfart. Publications of the Algonquian Text Society / Collection de la Société d'édition de textes algonquiens. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1998. 007