Cape Breton Mi’kmaw couple organize language retreats in Nova Scotia

SYDNEY — A Mi’kmaw couple from Cape Breton is getting ready for a getaway, but not the typical weekend holiday. Cheryl Knockwood and wife Candice Sylliboy are taking a proactive approach to growing the amount of Mi’kmaw language speakers with their initiative, L’nui’sultinej – Let’s Speak Mi’kmaw, a series of 3-day Mi’kmaw language immersion retreats. The first retreat will be held on the Nova Scotia mainland in Tatamagouche from Feb. 2-4, followed by a second in Cape Breton in Baddeck at the Inverary Resort from March 22-24. Each retreat will welcome 20 language learners of varied skill levels to spend a weekend immersed in the language with language teachers and speakers. Sylliboy, a Mi’kmaw language teacher for the Strait Area…