Windspeaker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
There is a glow to Julie Hanuse, education coordinator for Klahoose First Nation in the Salish Sea, located between Vancouver Island and the mainland. She has a warmth and strength that has kept her going in her role for 31 years.
Continue reading Klahoose education coordinator brings a special something to the classroom
By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In lead up to National Indigenous Peoples Day, the province is supporting First Nations language and culture revitalization through nearly $35 million in new funding towards the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) and the First Peoples Cultural Foundation (FPCF).
Continue reading Province contributes new funding towards First Nations language and culture revitalization
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Warning: This story contains details that may provoke distress or trauma in some readers.
Astrid Wilson radiates passion, grief and fierce determination when speaking about her ambition to become a fluent Haíɫzaqvḷa speaker and rekindle the ancestral language of her community of Bella Bella on B.C.’s isolated central coast.
“It’s beautiful, but it’s a heavy journey,” she said.
“When it comes to language revitalization, there are so many emotions that flow through your mind as you’re relearning your language.”
Continue reading Haíɫzaqvḷa (Heiltsuk):The joy and pain of language revitalizationWindspeaker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Sara Child, Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, wants to “unlock” the power of the Kwak̓wala language and, if she and her team are successful, it could mean that other Indigenous peoples will have the keys to revitalize their endangered languages as well.
Child is a professor in Indigenous education at North Island College. The not-for-profit society she established in 2017, the Sanyakola Foundation, has received several years funding (May 2021 to May 2024) through the Mitacs Indigenous Pathways program.
Continue reading Project growing Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw souls through language, land, culture and technologyBy Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Tofino, BC – During art class at the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino, Dominic Hansen eagerly volunteered to introduce himself to his class.
Despite having already been in school together for nearly three months, Hansen’s classmates listened to him attentively, as if they were hearing him for the first time. In Nuu-chah-nulth, he shared his name, his parent’s names and where he comes from.
Continue reading Interweaving Nuu-chah-nulth culture into a school curriculum
