A First Nation legislator addressed Queen’s Park in his own language

New Democrat Sol Mamakwa addressed the Ontario legislature in Anishininiimowin, also known as Oji-Cree.

For the first time, the Ontario legislature allowed, interpreted, and transcribed a language other than English and French.

Oji-Cree or Severn Ojibwa is a variety of Ojibwe, an Algonquian language, and is spoken in parts of northern Ontario and at Island Lake in Manitoba in Canada.

“This is a great and historic event,” Mamakwa said, expressing the “immense feeling” of speaking in his ancestral language.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube or see below.