Gospel
of Mark in Plains Cree released
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski
SASKATOON — A new translation
of Mark’s Gospel in the Plains Cree language was launched in Saskatoon
May 19, sponsored by the Canadian Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible Translators
of Canada.
The new publication of the
Gospel of Mark is part of the larger Western Cree Bible Translation
Project, which aims to publish the entire New Testament and about 40
per cent of the Old Testament into the Plains Cree “Y” dialect,
explained project co-ordinator Ruth Heeg of Kitchener, Ont., who works
with the Canadian Bible Society’s translations department.
The translation itself has
already been completed by Rev. Stan Cuthand, an Anglican priest from
Saskatoon, with Cree readers continuing the long, ongoing process of
reviewing the translation, she said.
“We thought it would
be good to put out a publication of a portion of the work, and the decision
was made to produce the Gospel of Mark,” said Heeg at Queen’s
House of Retreats, where the launch was held.
The publication of Mark follows
a production of the Old Testament book of Ruth and a booklet featuring
the Easter story from the Gospel of Luke produced in Cree in 2004 as
part of the ongoing project, she noted.
Over the past 150 years there
have been other translations of Scripture into Cree, including one by
Rev. Gerard Beaudet, OMI, who recently died in Saskatoon (see related
story). However, in any language, ongoing and updated translations are
needed to ensure the Bible will continue to be accessible and understood,
Heeg said.
The publication of Mark’s
Gospel includes both syllabics (a style of writing composed of symbols)
and Roman orthography (using the same letters as the English alphabet)
appearing on facing pages. It also comes with an audio CD of the Gospel
read by Dolores Sand of Muskeg Lake.
One of the first graduates
of the Aboriginal Lay Formation program in Saskatoon, Sand is a teacher
and elected leader.
“I think it brings
the Bible to us, however you want to read Cree,” said Sand of
the new translation, noting the benefits of having both forms of writing
on facing pages.
Working on the project has
enhanced her own knowledge and understanding of the Bible and of her
language, Sand said, quoting one of the speakers at the launch who described
the feeling of being “poor instruments” working to make
God’s word known.
“I am getting to know
the Bible much more deeply. I have found this spiritually fulfilling,”
said Gayle Weenie of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Parish in Saskatoon,
who has been involved in the review process for the past two and a half
years. “It has opened up a new way of reading the Bible.”
The differences between Cree
and English — and the original Greek of the Scripture —
means that the committee must often wrestle with words and concepts,
she described, adding that differences in Cree dialect have also posed
challenges and necessitated some compromises in the translation.
The entire process of working
on the Plains Cree translation has also had a healing dimension for
Weenie, whose parents attended residential schools, where they were
forbidden to speak their native language. In spite of that, her father
persevered, and taught his family to speak Cree.
“It was hard for my
father that his language was not accepted. And now it is being accepted,
and we are being welcomed and encouraged. It is kind of coming full
circle.”
Weenie also observed that
it is the Christian Church that is working to bring this Cree translation
about. “No one else has invited me to work in this kind of a role,”
said Weenie. “It’s an interesting process how things have
worked out. And I think of all these people who are not around anymore,
and how they would have welcomed being able to read the Bible in their
own language.”
She also thinks of the children and grandchildren who will have this new translation. “It is something to pass on.”
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