Author Archives: Natascha Wimmer

As my final blog post, I decided to explore “Stolen Words” by Melanie Florence. 

I love this resource because it provides lessons and histories through storytelling, specifically addressing topics of language loss and revitalization. Stolen Words is a powerful story about the long term and intergenerational effects of Residential Schools on culture, identity and language. Through a young child interacting with her grandma, the reader is not only able to engage in learning about history but we are also able to witness how learning and knowledge is transferred through generations in Indigenous communities. The young granddaughter recognizes either (or perhaps a combination of both) her grandfather’s loss or a desire to revitalize language and provides him with a Cree dictionary. The grandfathers experience demonstrates the sorrow and sadness the grandfather felt with the loss of his language and experience at residential school. When the grandfather is exploring the Cree dictionary, you can truly feel a shift in the book as the reader can feel the grandfather receive a piece of something he thought was forever lost. 

I just absolutely love this story because it portrays the hardships and intergenerational legacy of residential schools but also provides space for hope, empowerment and rejuvenation through generations working together. This story also provides powerful illustrations that allow the readers to visualize and think beyond the text on the page. As a teacher, I like to project the illustrations and book on the document camera and then use a read aloud version in order to ensure there is proper pronunciation of the Cree words. 

The experiences of children at Residential school, specifically the attempt to erase and forbid Indigenous languages demonstrates the powerful connection that language has to our sense of being, our identity and our cultures.

Here is the link to the read aloud

In module 3 and 4 I used a lot of dense articles and resources to explore my paper. I wanted to round out my research by exploring stories and resources that I encounter on a regular basis, including stories. 

“I Am Not a Number” by Jenny Kay Dupuis is a powerful true story of Dupuis’ grandmother at residential school. It explores the deep connection of language, identity and culture and students were often stripped of their name and given a number. It explores Dupuis’ grandmother’s fear and arrival at the residential school, how she grasped onto elements of her identity and culture as well as the effects as she returned home. This story is a reflection on the powers of assimilation and forced erasure of the distinct identities and cultures of each individual and community affected. As I continue to prepare for my final assignment and continue to reflect and develop my own approaches as a teacher, it is important to not get caught up in only “formal” peer reviewed research essays and studies. It is critical to continue to explore the voice and knowledge of Indigenous communities through their way of sharing, often through storytelling. From the illustrations to the words chosen, this book was carefully curated to create a certain tone and atmosphere for the reader… it creates an emotional connection that makes our soul feel the history in a different way than an essay might. 

Although this book does explore the impacts of residential school, it also does a beautiful job of showing the connection of language, identity, culture and diversity.

I’ve added the youtube video with someone reading the book here

This is actually a video presentation sponsored by the UBC Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. This presentation explores a tool kit to “digitize” cultural materials to make resources available to different Indigenous communities. The toolkit was an initiative based on the lack of access as well as the lack of resources available for Indigneous communities, and specifically, Indigenous language resources. Digitization refers to the process of converting cultural materials into an accessible digital form and archive. The University acknowledges that this is a “living” toolkit and will have to adapt as it is continued to be used and interacted with in Indigenous communities. The presentation also highlights the rapid change of technology (for example the rapid irrelevancy of the cassette tape) and is attempting to build a kit that is “meant to last”. I also enjoyed Dustin Rivers’ presentation. He is a member of the Squamish nation and works directly in language revitalization. Dustin explains his own experiences with his language, his experience of learning the technology and the benefits or potential benefits (‘excitement’) that technology can bring. As much as technology can be about connection of communities, this presentation really drove home the idea to analyze, listen to and learn from the recordings of the elder and past. For example, Dustin explained that one thing he learnt was the difference in caliber (power) of how songs are sung now compared to in the past. 

As mentioned in previous posts, it’s important to me to consider and make efforts to explore the impacts and efforts of Coast Salish nations as that is my local, place-based context. 

Lam, M., Lawson, G., Khelsilem, Rivers, D., & Laszlo, K. (2012, June 25). The Indigitization Tool Kit for the First Nations Community Digitization Projects

Although a longer resource, this thesis written by Kirsten Baker-Williams provides an invaluable account of members of Squamish nation and their reflection on language revitalization. I chose this resource because I work in West Vancouver and live in Vancouver of which is unceded and ancestral territory of the Coast Salish Nations, specifically in my area of West Vancouver, the Squamish Nation. I thought it was really important to take the time to find a resource that is local and place based. We have learnt through our study of globalization that there is a need to take a contextual approach to our understanding of Indigenous communities, ways of being and experiences. Although there are larger general trends of colonizations the impacts and identities of each community have their own unique experience and self-determination. Further, the Baker family has been a connection between our school district and the Squamish nation and I am always honoured to hear or read their stories. As this is a large resource, I specifically focused on the interviews of members of the Squamish nation.

The thesis explores issues of colonization and assimilation but also explores the “desire to keep Squamish as a living language”. This also had a certain impact on me as I connected it to one of my earlier webblogs, the Language Maps, that identified there were only a few remaining fluent Squamish speakers although there are hundreds that are learning the language.

Right away, the thesis begins by exploring names, name ceremonies and the connections to identity. This emphasis also helped me pick later resources in my Webblogs.

Baker-Williams, K. (2006). Na mi k’anatsut ta Sk̲wx̲wu7mesh snichim chet : Squamish language revitalization : from the hearts and the minds of the language speakers (T). University of British Columbia.

The FPPC is a council formed by the government that administers “the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Program”. The FPPC aims to support Indigenous communities as they revitalize their cultures and traditions. I like this resource because it is a BC based resource and it provides a diversity of resources including accessible links to programs, initiatives, libraries and stories. One of the programs available is the Language Technology Program which is a grant for up to $230,000 to “support language and revitalization using technology”. It is a three step program that involves using FirstVoices to record and archive the language, a digitization program to convert resources to an accessible digital format, and a third step to develop digital tools such as language apps to further language education. 

1. Record
2. Digitize
3. Develop

I like this program because it focuses not only on the recording or documentation of language but also finding solutions to meet the barriers and demands of the digital world, loss of languages and separation of communities. At the program description page, there are abundant links to help participants through this project including a digitization knowledge base, digitization toolkit, firstvoices knowledge base, language lists and more. 

It is critical that there are initiatives like this council to fight for Indigenous community representation and revitalization. Specifically, for the government to support, fund and provide these opportunities as well. There are 6 language programs currently available through the FPPC ranging from mentorship programs to youth language empowerment programs.

https://fpcc.ca/program/ltp/

Similar to other articles, this article begins with a quick overview of the impacts of language loss specifically on Indigenous communities. I enjoyed reading this article because it provides information by telling a story of how there was a barrier in technology and how that problem would be potentially solved. Hearing “voice” while reading this story made it more impactful than my previous post which sounded more like a researcher or reporter speaking. It also provided a really clear example of a basic fundamental problem of access to technology. The story explored how keyboards can greatly affect access to a language. Specifically, it explores the Ichishkiin language which has a 39-character alphabet and a gentleman who created a keyboard to “honoring the actual alphabet of the language”. In particular, this quote really stood out to me “Lack of font support is one way Native languages are being forced into the past”. The article continues to explain other stories of technology use including apps to practice language as well as “FirstVoices” which is a web-based tool to document and record language information.

Link to article: https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2020/04/15/technology-indigenous-languages

This article provides a clear overview of the Indigenous language loss and revitalization on a global scale. It is a helpful resource while I am preparing for my paper because it provides a “big picture” overview of the larger trends that have and are occurring. It discusses global action that is being taken, including steps by the UN to “promote and protect Indigenous languages” as well as references the recognition of “community goals of self-determination” . In regards to technology, it mostly focuses on radio and TV. I also like this article because throughout the text it provides hyperlinks to other articles and topics. For example, I explored a hyperlink to an article titled “The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts”. I like this feature because it allows the reader to follow their interests and curiosities and there seems to be quite a few hyperlinks available. 

https://blog.oup.com/2019/06/using-technology-help-revitalize-indigenous-languages/

The COVID 19 pandemic impacted communities and groups of people in very different ways. As a teacher, I was forced into a learning curve where I worked from home and was then very quickly brought back into the classroom by June of 2020. I felt as though I was being pushed around from place to place and I was unsure of the circumstances. During this time, I tried to remain thankful that I was privileged enough to work from home when necessary, and I had a job to return to. During this time, I had access to technology and the many benefits it easily provided me including communication with loved ones, media, education sites, etc. Other than the need and hope for people and my loved ones to remain safe and healthy, I was generally alright. 

This article was a nice place to pause and reflect on the impact that technology had on Indigneous communities including their culture and methods of communication. McIvor et. al. (2020) argue that the “pandemic crisis that hit in the first part of 2020 had the potential to silence and deprioritize language work, reducing it to non-critical activity” (p. 409). The article explores the impacts and challenges as well as the language opportunities that were provided in consequence of or in tandem with the pandemic. The authors argue that Indigenous communities demonstrated resilience through collective strength, rather than individual strength, which was “carried through by language”. They argue language is deeply connected to wellness, and that when the “pandemic threatened individual and community wellness, we had to consider how we sustain our languages” (McIvor et. al., 2020).

The article describes the need for “digital connection” in order to “strengthen and shift [their] movement to continue Indigneous languages into time immemorial” (McIvor et. al., 2020). 

McIvor, O., Chew, K. A., & Stacey, K. I. (2020). Indigenous language learning impacts, challenges and opportunities in COVID-19 times. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16(4), 409–412.

This is an interesting resource because it connects patterns of colonization across the world to different Indigneous communities but then focuses specifically on North American rights to self-determination and the principles that that describes. The article explores how globalization has affected the overall commentary as Indigneous groups become represented as homogenous groups of people. This resource does not take a victim-based approach and aims to create a vision that “emphasizes the resilience, determination, and successes of Indigenous peoples in (re) claiming and (re)creating their lives, languages and futures” (Dehyle et. al., 2008, p.3). This article argues that self-determination is a vital part of this process of reclamation. As a teacher, this resource provides a critical lens on the educational patterns and trends that have both colonized and can decolonize curriculum and teaching practices. A main strategy is through using language as a pillar and foundation to bind pieces of a culture and Indigenous ways of being. Further, that language could be used as a way of exploring the diverse identities of each community compared to the homogeneity of the global representation. Dehyle et. al. (2008), explore the meaning of language and argue that “meaning is more important than words” (p. 9). 

While I continue to explore the relationship of colonization, language and revitalization this article gave me pause to think about what language really means and how these values may be different across cultures. 

A boom pow point for me was when Dehyle et. al (2008) argue that there is a need for a “epistemological reorientation” that would see a change in education thinking and focus from:

Ways of teaching to ways of knowing and being

Deyhle, D., Swisher, K., Stevens, T., & Galván, R. (2008). Indigenous resistance and renewal: from colonizing practices to self-determination. In D. Deyhle K. Swisher, & T. Stevens Indigenous resistance and renewal: From colonizing practices to self-determination (pp. 329-348). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412976572

As I continue to narrow my focus for my final project, my goal this module was to continue to explore stories of language loss while shifting towards revitalization, empowerment and preservation. I have also started to think about how technology can be used to support these processes.

This article is written by an author who has a desire for “equitable education and language revitalization” and recognizes the colonial impact to Indigenous peoples, communities, customs and languages in Canada. In particular, I enjoy how this article reviews the different stages of technology, from facilitation (including pots, tools, etc.) all the way to “semantic technologies” (including technologies in the future, such as AI). I find these stages so compelling because Meighan (2021) identifies the stages but also describes the purpose and relationships it creates between the users and technology. For example, the initial stage of facilitation was a relationship based between individuals, groups and their local environments in order to survive, thrive and meet basic needs. We see this quickly evolve into a need for communication, digital information, to negotiation, creation and all the way to digital simulation (future technologies).

I like this approach because as we have evolved, the need or purpose of technology has changed on a wider global scale. We have learned through this course that although globalization is relevant, so is local, place-based learning and contexts. If you look at the table and analyze where specific communities are in their “evolution”, it is easy to recognize the conflict in current technology use. Not all communities are in the same state of “technological evolution”. This could be from a variety of factors including access and opportunities (or lack thereof), the Western framework of the internet and various perspectives on what information is, who can or has the right to access it and what should and should not be shared.

Meighan, P. J. (2021). Decolonizing the digital landscape: the role of technology in Indigenous language revitalization. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 17(3), 397–405.