Michif Language Lessons on Your Phone

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Gabriel Dumont Institute seeks to preserve Michif Language

Michif is the endangered orally-based language of the Métis people. Perhaps only 5-10% of the population are able to speak the language, with the majority being elders. The Gabriel Dumont Institute's mandate is to promote and preserve Métis culture and therefore has been developing resources that allow people to hear and read the language. Since Michif-Cree is an oral language, no standard orthography exists. As a result, the Institute recognizes the spelling conventions of Michif experts, such as Norman Fleury.

To help in preserving the language, The Gabriel Dumont Institute has created two smartphone enabled apps to help teach and learn the Michif language. You can click the buttons below the pictures to go to the apps on the Google Play store website and download/install them on your device.

Michif Lessons

Michif to Go

Michif Lessons contains over 60 exercises to learn over 1000 Michif words. Categories range from Numbers, Months, Animals, Weather, the Body, Love, and more! Michif specialist Norman Fleury provided all of the translations, as well as the audio narrations that will help users pronounce the Michif terms correctly. Michif Lessons was developed by the Gabriel Dumont Institute and the app was created by Media Access and Production (eMAP), University of Saskatchewan - http://www.emap.usask.ca.​

Michif to Go is the first English-to-Michif Dictionary available for Android. Features over 11,500 translations and audio pronunciations by Michif-language expert Norman Fleury. A search tool allows users to look up the English word to find the Michif-Cree translations. This project was developed by the Gabriel Dumont Institute, and was funded through the Department of Canadian Heritage's Aboriginal Languages Initiative. The app was created by Media Access and Production (eMAP), University of Saskatchewan - www.emap.usask.ca.

The mission of the Gabriel Dumont Institute is to promote the renewal and development of Métis culture through research; materials development, collection, and distribution; and the design, development, and delivery of Métis-specific educational programs and services.  Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research was founded in 1980 to help meet the educational and cultural needs of Saskatchewan’s Métis community. As the official training and education arm of the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, GDI is owned by the Métis people of Saskatchewan.​