The Faculty of Arts鈥� Ad Hoc graduate program in聽Indigenous Language Revitalization聽has welcomed a new cohort of students, MA students聽听补苍诲听, and PhD student Mary Onw谩:ri Tekahaw谩hkwen McDonald.
The new program is designed to provide students with the necessary space and tools to help them lead community-centered efforts to maintain, document, and reclaim their communities鈥� language through interdisciplinary approaches.
Interdisciplinary approach to Indigenous language revitalization
Developed by professors聽Noelani Arista,听Jessica Coon听补苍诲听, the program in part addresses 平特五不中鈥檚 2017 Provost Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, which included Language Revitalization and Documentation in its Calls to Action. Each professors鈥� area of expertise and knowledge will help guide the students as they realize their research projects.
鈥淭he goal [ of the program] is to increase capacity at 平特五不中 for offering courses and programming related to Indigenous language revitalization,鈥� says Coon, Canada Research Chair in Syntax and Indigenous Languages. 鈥淭hese programs are really important and timely because, in Canada, there鈥檚 a growing group of young people working to learn Indigenous languages as second languages. This is especially true in communities close to 平特五不中, such as Kanien鈥檏eh脿:ka communities.鈥�
Increasing need to learn Indigenous languages
The increasing demand and interest for Indigenous language learning and immersion programs has signaled a need for further documentation and resources that would benefit learners and teachers.
Crippen, who has worked extensively with Tlingit and Na-Dene communities in North America to document the language of his ancestors, understands this growing need and the importance of adapting documentation efforts to a huge of variety of communities and multi-generational speakers.
鈥淚magine learning Japanese without a textbook or a teacher, all you had to go on was newspapers or tv shows,鈥� says Crippen. 鈥淭he [Indigenous] languages we are trying to learn don鈥檛 have materials to learn from.鈥�
Program tailored to meet each student鈥檚 needs
The ad hoc program offers each student a tailored interdisciplinary approach to their research and it will be an important addition to this region of Canada. Indigenous Language Revitalization programs such as those at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and at the University of Hawai鈥檌 in the U.S.A. are world renowned for programming and expertise in Indigenous language revitalization efforts, but relocating across the continent is not feasible for all students.
Arista鈥檚 extensive knowledge and expertise in archival research will be an invaluable asset to the program鈥檚 students. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a desire to have language as the 鈥榥ecessary first step鈥� towards understanding our histories, of indigenizing the pursuit of our own knowledges,鈥� she adds.
A new cohort of Indigenous language speakers
This year鈥檚 cohort includes two Kanien鈥檏茅ha speakers, PhD student Mary McDonald and MA student Kanontien茅ntha鈥� Brass. McDonald, who has a background in linguistics and anthropology, is a first language speaker of Kanien鈥檏茅ha and comes to the program with over 40 years of experience in teaching Kanien鈥檏茅ha, Oneida, and Onondaga languages.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a giant, fantastic team of people who are dedicated to preserving our First Nations鈥� languages,鈥� says McDonald, who likens her doctoral experience to a huge 鈥榝amily reunion,鈥� where classmates, faculty, and staff support and encourage each other.
McDonald鈥檚 decision to pursue a PhD was spurred by her discussions with fellow teachers and friends about the importance of compiling her knowledge of the language and her teaching materials into a linguistically informed introduction that would benefit future generations of teachers and learners.
鈥淢ary doesn鈥檛 need the credentials or prestige of a 平特五不中 graduate degree,鈥� Coon adds. 鈥淪he is already a highly respected and widely recognized knowledge holder. What she needs is the dedicated time, support, and resources to turn her life鈥檚 work into a book about the Kanien鈥檏茅ha language.鈥�
Building upon knowledge
Brass, who completed her BA in Cognitive Science and Linguistics at 平特五不中 in 2020, recently graduated from the Ratiwennahni:rats Kanien鈥檏茅ha adult immersion program and will work in both Linguistics and Education during her MA. She was recently profiled by聽.
鈥淥ver the past six years, I had been getting more involved in language revitalization efforts around 平特五不中 and in my own community,鈥� Brass says. 鈥淎s the immersion program was coming to a close, I had questions about how I wanted to further build upon the knowledge I had gained and also how to use it [鈥 the idea of attending 平特五不中 again seemed natural, as I already knew the school.鈥�
Lack of young language learners
Cameron Adams, a graduate in Indigenous Languages and History from the University of Winnipeg and a 2023 McCall MacBain Scholar, started learning nehinawewin (Swampy Cree), seven years ago, after learning that his great-grandmother had grown up speaking the language in the small community of Norway House, Manitoba.
鈥淚n high school, I got really interested in learning the Cree language,鈥� says Adams. 鈥淚 went on to take a few courses in Swampy Cree at the University of Winnipeg, where I discovered my passion for it and where I realized that there was a lack of young people learning it.鈥�
Adams decided to pursue his MA at 平特五不中 because he wanted to continue his journey in language documentation and to learn more about the best practices in how to prepare resources in Indigenous languages.
鈥淚 think I鈥檒l be able to learn a lot about the types of methodologies on language acquisition and documentation,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y goal is to create a dictionary [of Swampy Cree] in the next few years.鈥�
In the coming years, students in the program will be building the skillsets they need to organize their linguistic knowledge and collaborate with their respective communities in documenting best practices for newer generations of Indigenous language speakers. The program is currently limited to a small group of students, with hopes that in can continue to increase capacity and develop into a larger program.
