Indigenous languages are Canada's national treasures. They are our identity. We simply have to put greater effort into rejuvenating and revitalizing them. It is key to moving forward.

If you want to change a mind, there's no better way than a dialogue over coffee.

We focus on bringing back Indigenous languages, ceremonies, cultures, traditions - all that was lost over the past 150 years. This is how we'll generate hope - for all Canadian people.

We are a nation within a nation.

In Cree, an oskâpêwis is a servant or a helper, someone who hauls in rocks for sweats, or pipes or medicines. I equate that to leadership. You're a servant or helper of people.

Living on reserve we hunted; we fished; we trapped. We lived off the land. If we didn't hunt, we didn't eat. In summer, we hauled water from the slough. In winter, we hauled in snow to heat for water.

I went to elementary school in Goodeve, Saskatchewan, a small Ukrainian town. I played a lot of hockey, a lot of ball. Because of that I fit in - everyone wanted me on their team. The guys knew I was a hunter, and they were farmers. They just accepted that. I have lifelong friends from Goodeve.