Module 1: “Reclaiming the Language of the Squamish People”

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Dustin Rivers is a young language revitalization activist of the Squamish Nation. He does not profess to be a language expert or even fluent in the language he is helping to teach, but he saw a chance to promote the revival of his language through engaging his community (noting that “Social Media is just the beginning!”). Launched on November 17, 2010, Dustin’s website SquamishLanguage.com has served to promote language classes in the Squamish Valley, discuss the basic tenets and importance of language immersion around the home, promote two podcasts (one relating to language lessons and one relating to cultural icons, knowledge keepers, and leaders), study scripts for “word-of-the-day” posts,  invite community members to play traditional games and language-fluency games, and more.

It is also notable that this initiative is not (yet?) officially sanctioned by the Squamish Nation, nor does it have any financial sponsorship. This website serves as an example of how one Aboriginal youth is successfully initiating a grass-roots revival of his heritage language, using social media as a distribution platform. The Na Tkwi Sníchim podcast is especially relevant for language enthusiasts looking for a model to base their own language initiatives around.

The celebration of this successful language initiative to date is heartening and worth keeping track of.

Tribally Controlled Education (refined topic)/ Technology-Enhanced Language Revitalization (initial topic)

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EDIT!

After some deep reflection this week regarding Aboriginal educational goals and values, in the context of Canadian/westernized euro-centric education, I have decided to refocus my ETEC521 research from language revitalization to a broader spectrum of Tribally Controlled Education. I think the underlying line of query in the following post still holds true in many ways. How are Aboriginal communities re-establishing their right to culturally appropriate educational contexts?

Original post:

The goal of my research will be to find ways in which technology can be woven into effective and pedagogically sound methods of language revitalization. Living and working on Haida Gwaii in northern British Columbia, the language I am personally involved with is HlGaagilda Xaayda Kil, the Skidegate dialect Haida Language. I will be looking locally, nationally and globally for exemplary models of technology-assisted language revitalization.

It seems that often times, technology is portrayed as either counter-culture to traditional Aboriginal values, or as a “solution” to engaging with the culture of modern-day Aboriginal youth. Rather than being dichotomous, I think these two viewpoints may be placed in a shifting continuum in which there are no absolutes. In what ways are Aboriginal peoples using technology to revive and revitalize their languages? What novel methods of language revitalization are on the forefront? In what ways might technology reconcile with traditional Aboriginal culture?

Throughout this course I will keep an eye towards how this research relates to Skidegate’s language revitalization initiatives, which are currently in their infancy. During this term I will participate in the Breath of Life Institute, an indigenous language revitalization conference which will likely be reflected in my weblog postings.

Community Being Indigenous

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Community Being Indigenous is an organization devoted to the diffusion of Chilean aboriginal cultures, such as Mapuche and Aymara. This organization was formed under Chilean Ministry of Education, but since 2004 it was transformed into a NGO. The site of this organization provides resources (e.g. dictionary, documents, books, magazine) and multimedia (e.g. animations, video, interactive map of the location of indigenous cultures in Chile) about indigenous cultures of Chile. It offers information in different languages: English, Spanish, Aymara, Rapa Nui and Mapudungun.

Indigenous People Issues

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http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/

This site provides information about aboriginal communities of the world. It is a website devoted to provide resources (news, books, articles, video and audio) for people interested in learning about indigenous communities around the world in order to help them in the preservation of their language, culture and identity. This site provides information categorized in regions, issues (e.g. climate change, heritage, language, human rights, etc.), resources and books.

Center for World Indigenous Studies

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http://cwis.org/

This is the site of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, a non-profit research and education organization devoted to build an understanding about indigenous knowledge and the social, economic and politic realities of aboriginal communities. The site provides information related to indigenous cultures categorized in archives, media (video and audio), research, education, medicine, publications and forums.

VSB Aboriginal School Proposal

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Our discussions this week with respect to need to effectively consult indigenous groups prior to initiating a project like the OLPC project got me thinking about the current Vancouver School Board project which is looking at creating a k-12 aboriginal-focused seperate school.

The school board has held forums with: edlers, parents, students, and teachers in the community and there seems to be overwhelming support for the proposed model. There are however valid concerns throughout the aboriginal community regarding the potential for segregation/racism and a mediocre program that would not place a high value on academic success. During consultation the VSB team was encouraged to keep an Aboriginal Focus; one of the questionaire respondents said, “Don’t just put an Aboriginal label on Western methodology; don’t have the foundation being Western.” (p.7)

Another interesting note posted by one of the teachers who took part in the forums was the recognition that the questions that were chosen for the surveys, and the way the questions were posed may have limited the responses; an interesting take on the potential for cultural bias to impact responses…

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

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http://www.trc-cvr.ca/

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada website contains some resources related to residential schools in Canada. The Commission was created after the Government of Canada did a formal apology for the Indian Residential School system in 2008 for the harm that it propagated upon First Nations people. The Commission has been taking submissions of accounts from people who attended these Residential Schools. The goals of the Commission are:
(a) Acknowledge Residential School experiences, impacts and consequences;

(b) Provide a holistic, culturally appropriate and safe setting for former students, their families and communities as they come forward to the Commission;

(c) Witness, support, promote and facilitate truth and reconciliation events at both the national and community levels;

(d) Promote awareness and public education of Canadians about the IRS system and its impacts;

(e) Identify sources and create as complete an historical record as possible of the IRS system and legacy. The record shall be preserved and made accessible to the public for future study and use;

(f) Produce and submit to the Parties of the Agreement a report including recommendations to the Government of Canada concerning the IRS system and experience including: the history, purpose, operation and supervision of the IRS system, the effect and consequences of IRS (including systemic harms, intergenerational consequences and the impact on human dignity) and the ongoing legacy of the residential schools;

(g) Support commemoration of former Indian Residential School students and their families in accordance with the Commemoration Policy Directive (Schedule “X” of the Agreement).

Metis National Council

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The Metis National Council website is a great starting point for anything Metis in Canada. Metis are sometimes referred to as the forgotten North American aboriginal group as they are caught between their two cultures: North American First Nation and European. The site has a wealth of information and links about Metis Governments, Metis Rights and Metis Constitution as well as links to provincial Metis Nation websites: Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC.

There are links to some great videos about Metis including: Metis Summer (A Journey through Time) Metis Nation Veterans (No Longer Forgotten) and videos about Metis Heroes such as Harry Daniels.

This is a good place to learn about Metis and a starting point for doing research on Metis people and culture.

Map of North American Indigenous Languages

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Wikimedia Commons provides a map of North American Indigenous language families including Canada’s largely distributed Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dene and Algic to language families across small areas such as the Haida in British Columbia and the Beothuk of Newfoundland. It also includes isolate languages such as the Ktunaxa in British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. The map is available in German, Spanish and French.

This site provides many hyperlinks to Wikipedia for further information about the map content, languages and links to maps and information about languages in Mexico, Latin America and South America.  The site also provides a link to the Aboriginal Mapping Network which is a great resource for mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

This is a great site to visit before doing research on broad or specific topics related to indigeneity.

Center for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research

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Center for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research

This website is housed and maintained by Athabasca University. The Center for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research has the following goals:

  • Meet academic needs of Indigenous students, scholars, nations, communities, institutions and organizations
  • Improve the development and delivery of Indigenous Education at Athabasca University
  • Strengthen the research undertaken for, by and about First Nation Metis and Inuit People at Athabasca University
  • Acknowledge and develop the role of traditional knowledge in academic settings
  • Support, protect and preserve Indigenous Knowledge, Education and oral traditions

Athabasca University is Canada’s open University offering over 700 online courses and 90 degrees, diplomas and certificate programs with flexible start times.

The Center for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research provides a support and resource network for indigenous students taking Athabasca University courses and programs in their homes, communities or Nations.