Cree-language broadcasts of the Milano-Cortina Olympics by CBC commentators Dorothy Stewart and Cole Bosum reflect a broader shift toward Indigenous representation in Canadian media.
Together, the two commentators covered snowboarding, curling and hockey, describing every moment entirely in Cree, explaining the competitions and narrating the action as it unfolded.
For Stewart, a veteran broadcaster from Wemindji, covering the Olympics in Cree for the fourth time is both a professional responsibility and a cultural mission. It brings international competition to Cree audiences in a way that reflects their linguistic and cultural perspective.
“It’s my first language,” said Stewart, who is host of Winschgaoug, a Cree-language radio morning show on CBC North. “I speak a kind of northern dialect.”
However, while some sports are familiar – hockey was easier to describe – others required creative linguistic solutions. Instead of inventing a completely new vocabulary, the broadcasters relied on detailed descriptions to help listeners visualize the action.
“I used to play hockey myself, so I knew a little bit about it,” Stewart said. “But we don’t have words for snowboarding like in English, so we described how the person stands on the snowboard and moves their body, and the jumps they do.”
Curling commentary also required explanation, particularly for listeners unfamiliar with the mechanics of the sport.
“We talked about the ice surface, why the sweeping matters, and how fast or slow sweeping can control where the rock goes,” she noted.
Despite the challenges, the audience response was overwhelmingly positive. “I was actually surprised,” Stewart said. “Colleagues told us people were listening and were impressed with what we were doing.”
Stewart told a story of her friend’s grandmother, who had been feeling down. When the Elder realized that Olympic commentary was available in Cree, she got excited. It was a moment that showed how meaningful Indigenous language broadcasting can be for viewers.
Stewart’s cousin in Ottawa said a visiting niece became emotional when she heard Cree spoken during the Olympic broadcasts. Hearing their dialect alongside other languages made her feel proud and connected to her culture, a moment Stewart described as “rewarding and moving.”
She believes it’s important to encourage younger CBC North colleagues to “have fun with it.” So, she introduced Cole Bosum “because he was getting so good as a speaker.”
Working alongside a younger colleague, Stewart said she naturally took on the role of mentor.
For Bosum, covering the Olympic Games in Cree required creativity, quick thinking and, sometimes, the creation of entirely new expressions.
“With the curling, we adapted to the terminology,” he said, “For example, the circles that are on the ice, they call it ‘the house’, so luckily, we do have those words in Cree. I was using them as literal translations to describe where they were throwing the stones.”
Snowboarding, however, required more improvisation. Bosum combined Cree words to create a new expression for a snowboarder standing on a board, a phrase he said does not appear in dictionaries but helped convey the action to listeners.
“We simply described what the athletes were doing,” he said. “Like, he’s standing on something flat, or he throws himself down the snowbank.”
Hockey presented a different challenge because of the speed of play, Bosum observed.
“The first minute or two I was really quiet,” he admitted. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to describe what I was seeing, but after a few minutes of my colleague being there, I just ended up following her lead.”
Bosum’s relationship with the language itself is unique. Unlike most of his colleagues, who grew up speaking Cree as a first language, he learned it later in childhood.
Originally from Ouje-Bougoumou, Bosum began learning Cree at age eight after his family returned home from Gatineau. Surrounded by family members, including a grandmother who spoke only Cree, he gradually became fluent. His Cree proficiency further improved working as a CBC reporter.
The Olympic broadcasts generated emotional reactions from viewers. Listeners shared on social media how “really special” it was to hear the games described in their language.
“It’s a rare opportunity for an Indigenous language,” Bosum said. “It’s helpful for the younger generation to be able to go online, TV or media and listen to Cree that is quite rich in terminology and vocabulary.”
Although he initially felt nervous about the assignment, Bosum said the experience ultimately strengthened his own language skills.
“After the first game, I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m really honoured to have been given this opportunity.”
Bosum hopes to continue contributing to Cree-language coverage at future Games, including the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, while encouraging others to keep using Cree.
“Don’t ever stop learning the language,” he said. “Just keep learning.”