Syllabics are read according to directionality; this way of organizing them around a center point
emphasizes that nature of the symbols. The creation of this work was a practice of spending
time with each character found in Nêhiyawêwin, learning its lines more intimately. Together
with the audio, the chart speaks to a slow process of learning, unlearning, reconnection and
labour. Learning; Unlearning, the whiteboard makes reference to colonial education systems,
and the root of the loss of indigenous languages. Reflected is the journey to reclaim ancestral
languages, slow and clumsy at times and yet powerful. The language comes alive through the
voice, my slow repetitions of each syllabic pronunciation accompanied later by full words, then
Listen — Danielle recites the poetry for this work: