#naskapi

Canadian syllabics (ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ)

Canadian syllabics is the collective name for the syllabic writing systems used to write the indigenous languages of Canada. It is based on Devanagari and Pitman shorthand.

They are derived from the work of James Evans, a linguist and missionary who was inspired by Sequoyah’s Cherokee syllabary. The process culminated in 1840, when he formalized the syllabics for Ojibwe and Swampy Cree.

Notable features

Script type: abugida

Writing direction: left-to-right in rows

Number of characters: 79 common letters (75 consonants + 4 vowels)

Languages: Blackfoot, Carrier, Chipewyan, Cree, Dane-zaa, Inuktitut, Naskapi, Ojibwe, Sekani, and Slavey (10)

Because the script is presented in syllabic charts and learned as a syllabary, it is often thought of as such, but it is actually an abugida because consonants and vowels are written independently.

Characters represent vowels or consonants plus vowels. Final consonants are represented by superscript versions of the character with the vowel, and long vowels are marked with an overdot.

Vowels are represented by triangles and fall into two sets: back (-a- and -o-) and front (-e- and -i-). Each set consists of a low (-a- and -e-) and a high (-o- or -i-) vowel. The vowels within each set are mirror images of each other.

Letters used in most languages

Variants for specific languages

When a coat isn´t just a coat

The Naskapi people made coats not simply for warmth and protection, but also for religious reasons. The Naskapi, a nomadic tribe at one time, relied on the migrating herds of caribou for food, clothing, and other means of survival. Their ability to hunt was dependent on appeasing the spirits of the caribou, which they did through the coats that men wore on the hunt—coats with elaborate details and symbols painted onto the hide of past caribou that had given themselves up to the hunters.

These coats were such an incredibly important part of the Naskapi culture that even after extended contact with European traders, the Naskapi changed only the cut of the garment. Today, anthropologists look at a coat such as this one—made almost 100 years after first contact—and theorize that the traditional design, colors, and material offer proof of the Naskapi’s relative isolation from and even resistance to outside influences.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? A Reunion Story.

Snowshoes were an essential part of every Arctic resident’s gear, including that of Canada’s Naskapi First Nations Peoples (right). Unfortunately, a snowshoe isn’t of much use without its brother! 

A lone Naskapi snowshoe has lived in our collections room since the mid-1980s, when it brought with it the mystery of what happened to its matching counterpart. Today, that mystery was solved. A donor in Massachusetts recently found a single snowshoe among the possessions of her late mother (who used to work at Bowdoin), and had the idea to call the museum. After the drive down, the snowshoes were placed side by side for comparison (left). They appeared to be a near perfect match of one another, and were very likely a pair at one point.

We may not know the full history of these snowshoes, or how they got to Maine and Massachusetts, respectively, but we do know that the pair has a shared story to tell - one that can now become increasingly clear as they live out the rest of their days together at the museum. 

- L