Charlotte Ross
Producer
Charlotte Ross is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation (MLCN), one of three Woodland Cree language groups in Saskatchewan. She has two sons and has made Rosetown, SK, her home for the last decade. She is the second youngest in a family of eight born to Edward “Sandy” and “Elizabeth” Sarah Ross. Of utmost importance to her philosophy and foundation is her family’s lengthy history as entrepreneurs in forestry, logging, and tourism. Charlotte was born into her language, the Woodland Cree TH-dialect, and grew up living off the land.
“I was surrounded by fluent speakers and learned by being immersed in our language from birth,” she said. Over the years, through her relationships with colleagues, friends and acquaintances, Charlotte has come to also understand Plains (Y-dialect) and Swampy (N-dialect) Cree.
“I would hope that people feel intrigued to learn their Cree language and find the podcasts a window into the world of spoken language”
Charlotte has over 20 years of experience as the Coordinator of Academic Programs for Aboriginal Students and as a university sessional instructor for Indian Studies & Cree language classes. In 2011, Charlotte changed professional direction and embraced her role as a consultant for First Nations, Tribal Councils, non-profit corporations and post-secondary institutions.
Charlotte has sat on various boards and committees, including being involved in her community of MLCN for over 12 years as a committee member. She was a board member and co-chairperson of the Saskatchewan First Nations Economic Development Network, a role she shared for several years. She is an active member of the Awasis Aboriginal Education Council which has been offering an annual professional teacher education conference for almost 40 years in Saskatoon, SK.
Charlotte began her PhD program in Indigenous Language Revitalization at the University of Victoria in June 2019 as part of a cohort program. As a proficient Cree speaker and former Cree Instructor, Charlotte has been involved in many Indigenous Language program revitalization projects and continues to support the work of the Saskatchewan Indigenous Languages Advisory Committee and the Montreal Lake Cree Nation Cree Language Steering Committee.
Charlotte said she’s hopeful her and Andrea’s podcast listeners will feel their enthusiasm and passion for the language as they share laughter and insight into the history of Cree language development in Saskatchewan and the challenges teachers face within the educational system.
