La Ronge's Julius Park inside his booth as he works as a Dene translator during the Pope's visit. (Submitted Photo/Julius Park)

By Derek Craddock

TRANSLATING FOR THE POPE

‘Carrying the torch’: La Ronge man translating Pope Francis’ words to Dene

Jul 26, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Pope Francis I continues his visit through Canada, speaking to crowds of thousands in his native language of Spanish.

While there are many people translating his words into English, there are plenty more interpreting the message in Canada’s Indigenous languages, including a Saskatchewan man.

Julius Park, a member of Buffalo River Dene Nation who calls La Ronge home, is one of over two dozen interpreters translating the Pope’s words into his native language of Dene.

It’s not the first time he has been asked to translate as he was previously called to Ottawa roughly four years ago to translate for a Member of Parliament who was giving a speech in the Dene language.

He has also had experience translating the last two English debates for the federal election.

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Now, he finds himself interpreting the words spoken by Pope Francis I.

“The Pope, when he speaks, it’s relayed into English for us to translate that into our Indigenous languages.”

He said there are about 24 booths in Ottawa set up for Indigenous translators, with several others used for French and English.

La Ronge’s Julius Park works in his booths translating during the Pope’s visit to Canada. (Submitted Photo/Julius Park)

While he said it has been a challenging event, making sure they’re getting the message across, he’s honoured to be delivering that message in his own language.

We are proud that we’re sending a message in different Indigenous languages for our people out there. If I didn’t speak my language, I wouldn’t have this opportunity.”

“It’s comforting to know that the government has approached us and say, ‘can you do this for us?’ And we’re also doing this for ourselves, the audience out there that are listeners in their own languages.

“We’re kinda disconnected with our languages in some areas but we’re still strong in spirit about our language. We will continue to carry the torch to help our language survive. It’s very important as speakers, let’s revive it and maintain it.”

He hopes that his experience as an interpreter will inspire other Indigenous speakers to hold tight to their ancestral languages.

“We were brought into this world with our language. Let’s try to keep it and learn from it and learn about who we are as Indigenous people.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock