Students to
be taught indigenous language 5 days a week at Simon Fraser University
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"My
heart just soars when I have opportunities to speak to others
in my language. Right now, I don't have enough people,"
says 26-year-old Khelsilem. (Kwi Awt Stelmexw)
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A young man's determined efforts to revive his ancestral language
which started with grassroots language nights in his father's
home five years ago reached a new milestone this week with
the announcement that he'll be leading a full-time adult immersion
program for the Skwomesh language at Simon Fraser University in
September.
"My heart just soars when I have opportunities to speak
to others in my language. Right now, I don't have enough people,"
says 26-year-old Khelsilem (his traditional Skwomesh name).
The program would like to have 15 students learning Sk_wx_wú7mesh
sníchim (the 7 represents a glottal stop or a slight pause)
or in English, the Skwomesh language seven hours a
day, five days a week.
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Khelsilem
will be one of two lead instructors of an innovative indigenous
language program at Simon Fraser University, which is now
accepting applicants. (Kwi Awt Stelmexw)
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Khelsilem will be one of two lead instructors of the program,
which is now accepting applicants. After completing 1,000 classroom
hours, students graduate with a certificate in First Nations language
proficiency.
It's modeled after similar indigenous language programs in Canada
and New Zealand. Khelsilem says he was inspired by a trip to the
community of Kahnawake in Quebec, where he learned about Mohawk
immersion efforts.
"I was able to see how many years of running an adult immersion
program has created a community of language speakers
that
permeates through many institutions in the community, whether schools,
community centres, hospital, daycares or administrative centres,"
says Khelsilem.
"When I saw that, it was clear to me what was really needed
in my community."
The Squamish Nation has a population of 4,000 members with a
vast traditional territory that ranges from North Vancouver to the
city of Squamish, 60 kilometres north of Vancouver.
But a 2014 report on the status of B.C. First Nations languages
listed Sk_wx_wú7mesh sníchim as "critically endangered,"
with only seven fluent speakers remaining.
Immersion-based approach
Until now, the options for Squamish Nation members interested
in learning the language have been limited to Skwomesh classes in
local elementary and high schools. There are also evening classes
for adult learners, which are university-accredited but sporadic.
Khelsilem says a few hours a week of language instruction can't
turn a student into a language speaker.
"You might become knowledgeable in aspects of the language,
but it won't make you into a conversational speaker that can talk
to fluent speakers, or describe events, people and locations."
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Its
a trail-blazing project (in British Columbia), says
Professor Marianne Ignace, director of SFU's First Nations
Language Centre. (SFU)
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Professor Marianne Ignace, the director of SFU's First Nations
Language Centre, believes the Sk_wx_wú7mesh sníchim
immersion project has exciting prospects for revitalizing the language.
It's a trailblazing project (in British Columbia)," says
Ignace, a community member of the Skeetchesen First Nation and fluent
speaker of secwepemctsin.
"We know in our hearts it's nearly impossible for somebody
who studies their First Nations language at the pace of two to three
hours a week and they need to pump in 1,000 hours to get
good at it."
SFU has certified over 200 students in 15 indigenous languages
over the past two decades, says Ignace but only recently began offering
opportunities to learn in immersion settings.
The centre ran a four-month immersion "boot-camp"
for the Haida language in Haida Gwaii last winter. It's also piloting
a "language house" project with the Osoyoos First Nation
and Penticton Indian Band, immersing 15 students in the Okanagan
language, known as nsyilxcen, for two-days per week.
"We can see how much faster learners are able to progress,
if it's the full-time immersion based approach," says Ignace.
"It's hard to sustain that energy, but we're losing our
elders so fast. We're in a desperate situation to produce intermediate
and advanced speakers as fast as we can."
Funding indigenous language learning
Khelsilem, a semi-fluent speaker of Sk_wx_wú7mesh sníchim,
began learning from cassette tapes as a teenager. Once he became
more proficient, he launched an online language blog in 2011, designed
to reach and teach Squamish Nation members in any location with
his self-designed podcasts and YouTube videos.
That evolved into a Language House, where three residents lived
and spoke Sk_wx_wú7mesh sníchim daily.
Skwomesh language revitalized by First Nation youth through
DIY immersion
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Khelsilem
was once part of 'Language House,' where three residents lived
and spoke Sk_wx_wú7mesh sníchim daily. (Duncan
McCue)
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All these efforts were do-it-yourself volunteer affairs, supplemented
with contributions from crowdfunding campaigns. But Khelsilem says
he recognizes the key to developing a community of language speakers
is to make it financially viable for language students.
"A couple ofpost community members have indicated their
boss would give them a year leave of absence to take the program,
but they won't be earning income during that time. We want to make
language learning financially accessible to people."
The partnership with Simon Fraser University means students
who are First Nation members will be eligible to apply for post-secondary
funding to cover tuition costs, as well as a monthly living allowance.
Khelsilem has founded a not-for-profit organization called Kwi
Awt Stelmexw, hoping to raise $30,000 for student scholarships,
and plans to hold a gala fundraiser this March in North Vancouver.
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