My name is Travis Patron and I am an amateur practitioner of the Cree (Nēhiyawēwin) language.
I practice this language because I believe it is important for Canadians to pay homage to the languages native to this land.
Many of these Indigenous languages are in danger of becoming obsolete because they are not being socially supported.
As a candidate for public office, it is important to use these languages because there is historical knowledge encoded in them. When we lose a language, we lose the memories that accompany the natural history of that people. The stories that grounded the culture and gave the people a sense of purpose and identity fade away with the language when it is forgotten.
I speak a little Cree. I am still learning and not an expert by any means. However, I enjoy the challenge of learning a new language.
The experience can also be fun because it allows a person to immerse themselves in a new culture. Languages literally define culture. If a person desires to live in a culturally different way, they must speak a different language.
When we speak a new language, the way the world responds to us changes with it because the way we make sense of the world and attempt to understand society is through the spoken word.
When the words we use change, so too does the world around us. Words build worlds. Words materialize.
Unfortunately, it seems not everyone supports my efforts to learn such native languages. Shortly after delivering the following presentation on the Cree language at the University of Saskatchewan, I was inexplicably banned:
Despite being issued a trespass notice by Protective Services, I returned to campus a few months later and was accused of impersonating a peace officer (section 130(1)(a) CC.) when I did so. However, this criminal proceeding (information #991239849) does not preclude the Crown’s own liability under section 430(4.101)(b) of the Criminal Code which they incurred for interfering with my enjoyment of the University of Saskatchewan:
“Everyone commits mischief who wilfully interferes with any person in the lawful use, enjoyment, or operation of a building, structure, or part of a building or structure that is used primarily by an identifiable group as defined in subsection 318(4) CC. as an educational institution – including a university – or an object associated with that institution located on the grounds of such a building or structure.”
- Section 430(4.101)(b), Criminal Code
These proceedings were conducted by the University of Saskatchewan Protective Services in response to my attempt to nationalize the University and I have yet to be given an opportunity to speak in my defense regarding them.
Therefore, I reserve my section 11(b) Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time for allegedly failing to comply with the trespass notice (ticket #85560322).