Cameron Adams

Spring 2023 Valedictorian

Cameron Adams has dedicated his life to Indigenous language revitalization. 

After taking UWinnipeg’s first-year Cree courses, Adams worked with Elders and other community members to create the n-dialect language app, nēhinawēwin, which familiarizes users with Swampy Cree words and phrases. The app was released at the beginning of 2022.

"Making space for Indigenous languages in Canada is what I want to do for the rest of my life," he said. "We need to speed up the revitalization process, speed up the documentation, and continue community building. I want real change."

Adams, who was named a McCall MacBain Scholarship recipient this spring, will be pursuing the Ad Hoc Master of Arts program in Indigenous Language Revitalization at McGill University this fall. He's graduating with Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Languages and Bachelor of Education in History.

He says it was shocking to find out he had been chosen as Spring Convocation Valedictorian, as his only focus this final term was graduating and preparing for his master's studies.

"I am really grateful to have this opportunity," he said. "I've already had a great year and this is the cherry on top of my whole graduation."

As he looks back at his six years at UWinnipeg, Adams says he'll really miss the campus community.

From living in McFeetors Hall for four years, serving as the Student Representative on the Board of Regents and on the mental health committee, starting his mornings in Riddell Hall with a coffee from Diversity Food Services, and spending most days at the Aboriginal Student Services Centre, he was an active member of the University community from day one.

Adam's advice for the Class of 2023 is simple: "Don't be afraid to pursue challenges. You have your education behind you and you can do anything you want to in life. Take every opportunity you possibly can and use it to grow."