tānisi, Andrea Custer H. Clarke nitisithikāson.

My name is Andrea Custer, an asinīskāwinīhithaw (Rock Cree) from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, a fluent speaker in the “TH” dialect, educator, and passionate advocate for language reclamation. For over a decade, I’ve dedicated my life to teaching and preserving nīhithawīwin, our Rock Cree language, as I believe it holds the key to our identity, culture, and future.

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My education background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies from First Nations University of Canada, an After-Degree Secondary B.Ed., Major in Social Studies and a Minor in Teaching Cree as a Second Language from the University of Alberta, a Master’s Degree in Indigenous Land-Based Education from the University of Saskatchewan. I am currently a PhD candidate in Indigenous Language Revitalization at the University of Victoria.

My doctoral research examines language transmission in the home, particularly the beliefs and decisions that shape families’ ability transmit their language to their children in English-dominant contexts. In my research, I examine how Cree families navigate Cree-English bilingualism and how Relational Bilingualism can support the transmission of Cree. My work draws on Indigenous research methodologies that center relationships, natural laws, and the lived experiences of families. My supervisor is Dr. Belinda Daniels, who I am also proud to call nimis.

In addition to my academic work, I currently serve as Chair of the PBCN Language Council, a non-profit organization committed to the supporting the reclamation of the Cree language in Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation communities. In this role, I lead initiatives that aim to engage youth with the land and foster an appreciation for their Cree language.

In my professional career, I’ve held various roles but my work has mainly focused on teaching Cree. I’ve worked as a Division I Cree teacher in Sturgeon Lake, SK, a Junior High Cree teacher in Louis Bull, AB, a high school teacher in Beauval, SK, and a university-level Cree language instructor at First Nations University of Canada where I taught beginner, intermediate and advanced Cree classes. Under the tutelage of Solomon Ratt and Arok Wolvengrey, I learned to read and write in Cree Standard Roman Orthography (SRO), achieving an unofficial minor in Cree Language Studies.

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