Charles and Opikokew...To provide Cree language piponi-metawaniwan(Winter Olympics) coverage for APTN

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.