Hi, we're Adora and Genesis, l’nuk (people of the land) students in Grades 7 and 8 from the Elsipogtog (El-see-buk-tuk) First Nation in New Brunswick, Canada.  

Growing up, we mostly spoke English at home, not our Mi’kmaq ( meeg-mah ) language. There is a sad reason for that. For generations, residential schools took Indigenous kids away from our culture and language. Because of this, many people in our community, including our parents and siblings, don’t understand or speak much Mi’kmaq. Our language almost died.  

A New Generation of Knowledge Keepers:  
 
Now, things are changing at Elsipogtog school. Our culture teacher is helping us learn Mi’kmaq the right way. This year, we created language picture books to help others learn and speak the Mi’kmaq language. These books include Mi’kmaq words, their meanings, English pronunciation guides, and fun illustrations. We've already begun using them to teach younger students, and they're spreading through our community. We are even teaching our education assistants, parents, and siblings. Our teachers tell us that we are becoming  knowledge keepers.   

Here is a sample of our books:

We want to teach everyone who wants to learn our language. We want to speak to our Elders without needing them to use English. Our elders are so happy when we try our best to speak Mi’kmaq, which makes us feel proud.   

We want to revitalize our language. Our language connects us all together. By learning and practicing together, we are keeping Mi’kmaq alive.  
 

The Opportunity:  
 
This is why we’re doing something our community has never seen before: launching the first-ever student-led publishing company to create Mi’kmaq language books.   

We will start by selecting 10 books made by Elsipogtog students. They will explore unique aspects and topics of our language and culture like numbers, alphabet, colours and animals. The books will also include fun drawings and photos. Our authors will receive royalties from our sales.  

This project will be student-led. Our team of young entrepreneurs will come together and take charge of everything. We will be selecting books from our student authors, organizing the printing, doing market research, marketing our business, taking orders, and shipping our products.   

We will work together with other students, teachers, and Elders to make sure our books are authentic and meaningful. Our advisors will also help us make decisions that are right for our community.  

We will also have support from Bill Roche, the creator of PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs (more about that below). He is our mentor and is helping us plan and implement our business. He is even connecting us to professionals like an accountant and lawyer.  

We want this project to be long term. We want people to be speaking Mi’kmaq.  

How Your Contribution Helps: Youth Empowerment + Language & Culture Revitalization:  

Your donation will support us with:  

• Creating a student-led publishing company for language and culture revitalization (a social enterprise).  

• Professional printing of our first set of books.  

• Shipping materials.  

• Marketing materials.  

• Royalties for student authors to reward their work.  

All profits from book sales will go directly back into our business so that we can print and sell even more books. We will also support cultural learning initiatives for our school and community. For example, we want to help complete a longhouse project for our school. This outdoor learning space will host ceremonies, stories, and even meetings for our publishing company.   

The Team:  

You might wonder how students like us can take on such an important project. Here are some reasons why:  

• We are l’nuk and driven by our culture.   

• We are leaders, entrepreneurs and trail blazers.  

• We are smart, funny, driven and high achieving.  

• We are role models!   

Ever since  we were in grade 4, we've already been creating our own businesses with PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs. We know how to design products, do market research, manage money, and sell to real customers. We had to get loans and pay them back. We even used some of our profits to help our community. We know how to turn ideas into action.   

Here is a message from our teacher:

Please consider helping us start our student-led publishing company. Every contribution matters.  
 
Wela’lin, thank you, merci for empowering l’nuk kids!  

- Genesis and Adora