b'LITTLE SPIRIT MOONStriving for a Better TOMORROWBy Matthew BradfordM Marilyn Buffalo reminisces on a lifetime of actioning changearilyn Buffalo learnedforbade us from speaking our language.seminars and sports clinics in First Nations early in life that aWed come from a very culturally safecommunities. I was often on my own, single voice canplace to one where we were punished forresponsible for myself and the work I was transform commun- speaking Cree and told, You stupid Buffalodoing, she recalls. The Elders taught me ities: a truth that has inspired a lifetimesavage, youll never amount to anything. it was okay to be an activist, to understand of speaking up for Indigenous Peoples inTreaty rights, and that I wasnt breaking any Canada and turning words into action. Buffalos spirit prevailed, and after leavinglawsI was a freedom fighter.boarding school, she took her first job Buffalos voice took shape while growingas a political assistant to Cree ChiefHer passion for community-building led up as the eldest of 12 children in SamsonHarold Cardinal, president of the Indianher to found Yellowknifes Tree of Peace Cree Nation. Her worldview was shapedAssociation of Alberta. It was 1969 andChild Development Centre in 1972, by traditional Knowledge Keepers whoI was a dropout from university when Ithe first kindergarten based in Dene encouraged her to learn and connectstarted working for the Chiefs, she says. Itlanguage, and later the Alberta Native with her heritage. My late father told medrove my parents crazy, but I knew what ICommunications Training Program with there was nothing wrong with us. Yes, wewas doing was right because I was followingGrant MacEwan College.are in a trauma state. Yes, we are poor. Butmy own pathway.dont ever think that anything is impos- In 1975 at age 25, Buffalo became the first sible, she recalls. I grew up in that kindLEADING BY EXAMPLE advisor on Native affairs to the president of of philosophy. the University of Alberta, where she helped Working alongside Harold Cardinal provedcreate the institutions first Indigenous While her parents worked long hours,formative for Buffalo. At the time, Cardinalstudies committee and advanced cultural Buffalo spent much of her formative yearswas leading resistance against the federalinclusion across campus. There was under the care of her great-grandmother,governments White Paper policy. Hernothing for Indigenous studentsno a respected matriarch and midwife whofluency in Cree and gift for writing madeprograms, no governance, nothing. So, I helped Buffalo understand her culture andher a trusted advocate, and she begancreated the General Faculty Committee on become fluent in the Cree language. Shetravelling across northern Canada as aNative Studies so we could start building was a beautiful, hard-working woman whoyouth field worker, organizing leadershipsomething that would last.was completely dedicated to her family. She never spoke a word of English, and she was the keeper of the medicines.It was through her great-grandmothers teachings and those of other family members that Buffalo learned early in life to follow her truth: I honed my speaking voice and my spiritual voice quite early in my life. And I never abandoned it.However, the nurturing environment of Buffalos early years ended abruptly at age seven when she was sent to a residential school, followed by boarding school from grades seven through nine. She came face-to-face with racism and cultural oppression that signified a very different world than the one she knew at home. The clergy and the teachers spoke very poor English, and they 42 Fall/Winter 2025'