DCHP-3

kokum

< Cree ᑯᐦᑯᒼ 'your mother'
DCHP-3 (Mar 2024)

Spelling variants:
Kokum, kohkom, Kookum

The Cree term kokum is not to be confused with an East Indian fruit the size of cherry tomatoes used in some recipes.
n. — Indigenous

grandmother.

Type: 1. Origin — The Cree word ᑯᐦᑯᒼ, in Cree usually Romanized as kohkom, translates as "your mother" (see Online Cree Dictionary, s.v. "kohkum"). It has been borrowed into Canadian English, usually as kokum and has been slowly increasing in use since at least the 1990s in Cree-related works in English (see the 1994 quotation). Earlier uses of kokum appear to be anglicized (see the 1979 quotation), whereas more recent spelling forms such as kohkum appear to be a closer translation of the Cree syllabic term (see the 2020 quotation).

The term is also most frequent in Canada (see Charts 1 and 2).

Kokum and its spelling variants kookum and kohkum are not listed in the Canadian dictionaries Gage-5, FWSCD-82, ITP Nelson, CCD-2010. Kokum is not listed in the American dictionaries Merriam-Webster Unabridged, W-2, W-3, or DARE; it is not included in OED-3 or EDD.

The term is listed in COD-2, s.v. "kokum", and is described as "(among Cree, Ojibwa, and some Metis peoples) a grandmother." and s.v. "kookum".
See: mosum

Quotations

1979
"The kids call us Mom, or "Kokum", Cree for grandmother. But we're not trying to teach them they're different. We talk about they're being Indian in the light of acceptance, not contrast," Ms. Sanderson said.
1985
The main puppet character is Kokum, a native grandmother who teaches good nutritional and health habits to Mitzy, a young native woman who is pregnant.
1987
With the help of the trickster and Kohkum (Cree for Grandma), the young people convince the moody chief to provide an alternative for them on the reserve.
1994
I must thank my Kokum. She is that great Metis woman who kept telling me how proud she was and how proud my Mosom would be if he were alive. My Kokum and my Mother gave me the pride in being a Metis that made me want to record Metis women's history.
2018
He shares his life story in a fluid narrative that flows in time to braid scenes from his childhood and adolescence on the rez with his life in the city: his loves, his sexual encounters, his exploration of his identity and his tender love for his kokum (grandma).
2019
Before the introduction of modern medicine, the Kookums (Grandmothers) were the traditional keepers of knowledge of herbal plant remedies.
2020
What can 3 Elders, a producer and a filmmaker do in these COVID times? They decided to meet every week for 12 weeks on the LSSAP YouTube Channel!
Meet Donna Lynn Lerat, Gloria Myo and Donna Merasty, the Kohkoms, as they learn about each other, share their stories, navigate a Covid-19 world, and take their first steps in to professional theatre.
2023
We rode along the trail, kokum smoking and telling us stories about the lake, pointing out areas where she used to bring the aunties and Mom when they were just kids like us, the size of the fish they used to catch, the time they saw maskwa and her cub.
2024
McKenzie says that some of her students have started selling their own beadwork. “And they’re selling out,” she says. “That’s exactly what I wanted them to do was to find a hobby that they love, and to connect to who they are.”“Future Kokum means future grandmother in Cree. And that’s the hope of this business, to pass on traditional teachings to the future generations.”

References

  • Online Cree Dictionary
    • "kohkom"
  • OED-3
  • COD-2
  • EDD
  • W-2
  • W-3
  • Gage-5
  • FWSCD-82
  • ITP Nelson
  • DARE
  • CCD-2010
  • Merriam-Webster Unabridged

Images

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 7 May 2024

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 7 May 2024

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 7 May 2024

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 7 May 2024