Introduction

Canada’s Indigenous Peoples have many incredibly diverse languages. Over 60 different languages are spoken across Canada, with nearly 230,000 speakers (National Research Council Canada 2019). However, many are in danger of going extinct. Only 5% of Indigenous people in British Colombia are fluent in their language, and many are elderly (Khawaja 2021, 1). This is because of the systemic attack on Indigenous languages that took place in the residential school system.

The stripping of Indigenous children of their language in residential schools was cultural genocide. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report defined cultural genocide as removing the practices that allow a group to continue as a group. Language is one of those practices. Language is a large part of group identity and association, and sharing a language is sharing a worldview. First Nation elders have said that “knowing the native language is basic to any deep understanding of a First Nation way of life, [and] to being a First Nation person.” (TRC 2015, 152). Because of this, the revival and maintenance of Indigenous Languages is a key part of the Reconciliation effort.