Nourishing global roots

When Gordon Zakreski (BSPE'80) was growing up on a farm near Alvena, Sask., the dominant language spoken on main street was not English. It came in third, after Ukrainian and Polish.

Such are the roots of this province, particularly in rural areas. Settlers spoke many languages, even as the First Peoples communicated in Cree and other Indigenous tongues. Those multicultural roots continue to grow in Saskatchewan.

An understanding and appreciation of this fact has taken Gordon Zakreski full circle, from his youth through a long government career to his present position of executive director at the Saskatchewan Organization of Heritage Languages (SOHL).

“The school I went to was in Alvena; I was in a graduating class of eight,” Zakreski said in a recent interview. “There were 21 of us between Grade 9 and 12 inclusive. The standing joke was we knew what everybody had for breakfast.

“When I got to the university, I was overwhelmed... by the size of the place. I never had a locker before. It was all new to me, even though I grew up on a farm an hour away from the university.

“In those introductory classes in Arts and Science, you’re in a psychology class of 70 or 80 students. I thought, you’ve got to be kidding me; this is more than I had in my whole high school.”

Yet the campus and its faculty treated him kindly. He remembers developing strong working relationships, including with the dean of the College of Physical Education, Dr. Howard Nixon.

“He, along with his colleagues, but he in particular made a point of saying, how’re you doing? I give him a lot of credit. As I went through my years of education, he offered great counsel in allowing me to explore those options.”

At the same time, Gordon had joined the Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble. This opportunity embraced his Ukrainian heritage and allowed for Ukrainian dance instruction, training and performances provincially, nationally and internationally that included a performance at Royal Albert Hall in London. 

As Zakreski pursued the Physical Education degree, he was considering taking a second degree in education to become a phys ed teacher when fate intervened. One of his classmates, working for the provincial Department of Culture and Youth, approached him to apply for a summer job. The job entailed providing activities and programming for youth, particularly in the Saskatoon and North Battleford area. Just married to Gwen Bantle, and ready to convocate, Zakreski decided to take it.

“I never did go back to school. The summer position led to a temporary position in Regina, to continue the work I was doing around youth programming in the recreation field.”

The government subsequently offered him a temporary position in the Swift Current regional office; he ended up staying there for 10 years until a new opportunity arose in Regina. By then, he and Gwen had two sons, Brad and Rylan.

He worked for the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport for 25 years, subsequently moving to Economic Development and then to Tourism Saskatchewan, where he ended his 35-year government career.

“Then this opportunity at SOHL came up. I was too young to go into retirement, and I took this opportunity. I’ve come full circle.

“Because of the people I was involved with, I was prepared to expand my horizons. I’ve been very, very fortunate. I’ve had some fantastic opportunities both with provincial government and volunteer initiatives like being on the executive management committee for some major events, everything from a national United Way conference held in Regina to the Memorial Cup, the Grey Cup, and the Junos when they were held in Regina. I applied for and was part of the Saskatchewan Pavilion at the 2010 Olympics.”

He also was involved in trade delegations, in and outbound; hosted delegations in the economic development field; was involved with the Western Canada Games; and served as vice-chair of the 2005 Canada Games.

A memorable time in his life came in 1995, when Premier Roy Romanow launched an initiative to connect Saskatchewan more closely with Ukraine.

“I was invited to apply because of my heritage and my language,” Zakreski said. “I became part of this working group that travelled into Ukraine. We developed a number of initiatives in a variety of areas. The area I was responsible for was called the cultural industries. In my work I had developed partnerships with companies here in Saskatchewan and Ukraine around book publishing, film and video production, and a little bit around TV.”

Another interesting experience occurred in the early 1990s, when foreign investors came to the province to evaluate the potash industry.

His experiences have led to the position at SOHL, which he describes as “something that’s near and dear to my heart, recognizing the newcomers particularly to the province of Saskatchewan.

“The newcomers to the province are all about learning the language, French or English, very quickly. SOHL is all about saying we’re here for the community that wants to retain its language. We offer assistance in organizing a non-profit organization to establish a heritage language school.”

SOHL supports more than 30 languages throughout the province, including Indigenous and Métis languages.

“The newcomers want to pass on what I want to pass on to my children,” Zakreski said.

He arrived at SOHL at a difficult time. The government had recently removed its funding and the board was worried. Zakreski told the board he didn’t have a magic wand but felt he could stabilize the organization. As part of the process, SOHL hired a consultant and created a new strategic plan. The organization is still here.

“What we are demonstrating to our membership is that there is an eight per cent increase in support going to programming rather than administration; 48 per cent went to programming up from 40 per cent last year.”

One of SOHL’s initiatives allowed Zakreski to reconnect with his alma mater with a program called Heritage Language Day. In 1999, UNESCO proclaimed Feb. 21 International Mother Language Day, to protect all languages used by all people in the world.

This year, SOHL celebrated on Feb. 8 at Quance Theatre, where the heritage schools presented their oratory skills, dancing, and singing O Canada in their mother tongues. The Lieutenant-Governor, Honorable Russell Mirasty, attended the event, as did USask President Peter Stoicheff.

“One of the other programs we offer at SOHL is called the Mini Language Program,” Zakreski added. “We send out in August information about the program to elementary schools. They can apply to have a guest come into their classroom and present a different language and culture for up to eight hours of instruction.”

Among the most popular are Cree and Métis presentations, even in schools where there are no Cree or Métis children.

“Teachers are saying this is wonderful. We can have elders come in and talk about the culture,” he said.

The program also supported an Estevan school, which had welcomed students from the Pacific Rim who spoke no English. He arranged for resource people to offer language training in Mandarin for the Canadian students, “to help break down some barriers with the Chinese students. We kicked it off with a celebration of the Chinese New Year, learning some Kung Fu, singing and how to use chopsticks.”

Looking back at his varied and illustrious career, Zakreski credits the university with giving him the tools for a successful life.

“I’m forever grateful to the U of S, not just for my educational training but my personal development, for affording me the skills to go forward with this organization.

The newcomers in Saskatchewan have taken a huge leap of faith by moving to our wonderful province. We’re here to help them retain their language and culture.”