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Charles and Opikokew...To provide Cree language piponi-metawaniwan(Winter Olympics) coverage for APTN Abel Charles and Harry
Opikokew, Cree language
broadcasters with
Missinippi Broadcasting
Corporation (MBC) in La
Ronge, head to Winnipeg
Feb. 9 to provide Cree
coverage for the Olympic
Games for the Aboriginal
Peoples Television Network
(APTN).
Both Charles and
Opikokew will be at
APTN for some pre-
Olympic training and will
remain with the network
until the beginning of
March, Charles said.
“I’m certainly excited.
I certainly don’t feel it’s
about me. It’s about the
language, the culture, the
Cree Nation … We’re
trailblazers.”
And while some NHL
hockey games have been
broadcast in Aboriginal
languages, Charles said,
he thinks this is the first
time something the size
of the Olympics has been.
“It’s never been done before
as far as I know.”
The duo will not
only provide on-air Cree
language broadcasting
throughout the opening
and closing ceremonies
they also do control room
translation.
Charles will work with
Robert Merasty, one of the
founders of MBC and the
corporation’s first CEO,
who is a Mechif language
broadcaster, to provide
coverage of women’s ski
events throughout the
Olympic Games.
Preparation for the
Games included trips to
Winnipeg to familiarize
themselves with the
APTN facilities; they
created a Glossary of
Cree words relative to
sports and are familiarizing
themselves with the
athletes, not only Canadian
but from around the
world, Charles said.
“We have to study the
athletes bios and backgrounds,
not just Canadian
but from other
countries. By now I know
some of the leading ladies
in the Olympics (skiers)
because I’ve been studying
them, I probably know
the top five and who may
win a medal,” Charles
said.
APTN rented neighbouring
space to create a
studio specifically for the
Olympics and although
they have seen the studio,
it was not completed, he
said.
“It must look quite
nice now.”
Aboriginal broadcasters,
Charles, Opikokew,
Merasty and Barry Ahenakew,
from the Saskatchewan
Indian Cultural Centre
in Saskatoon, make up
a team of broadcasters.
The group met to look
at areas of language, such
as agreeing on some of
the terms used, because
Cree has many dialects,
Charles said.
“We put together a
Glossary (with help from
First Nations University
of Canada (FNUC),” he
said.
Providing broadcast
coverage of the Olympics
in First Nation, Inuit and
Metis languages “will be
a landmark in the global
television industry, in the
advancement of Aboriginal
cultures and in the
promotion and preservation
of Aboriginal languages
in Canada,” said
Jean LaRose, chief executive
offi cer for APTN, in
a press release.
“Over the 17 days …
APTN will broadcast 250
hours of Olympic coverage
in a total of 10 languages,”
also quoted from
the message in which La
Rose refers to APTN’s
goal of promoting an
awareness and interest
in the importance of the
diversity of Aboriginal
languages, which include
Cree, Mechif, Mi’Kmaq,
Ojibway, Oji-cree, Dene,
Mohawk and Inuktituit.
“These crews (made
up of APTN employees
and selected freelancers)
will produce stories
to be aired in our daily
shows with particular emphasis
on the Aboriginal
celebrations and cultural
activities surrounding
the Olympic Games,”
said Doug Howe, executive
producer for APTN’s
Olympic unit, in a press
release.
The Olympics run in
Vancouver from Feb. 12
through Feb. 28. “Aboriginal
Peoples Television
Network is an official rights holder and
member of Canada’s
Olympic Broadcast Media
Consortium for the
2010 Olympic Games,”
Howe wrote.
Valerie G. Barnes- Connell
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