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Indigenous Language Revitalization Movement

by Christa Couture for RPM

With the recent proliferation of the Twitter hashtag #SpeakingIndigenously, the language revitalization movement continues to use technology to its advantage.

Follow #SpeakingIndigenously and you’ll find phrases, words of the day, commentary, related news stories and likely a lot of input from “language warrior”Xelsilem Rivers (also known as Dustin Rivers) of the Skwxwú7mesh and Kwakwaka’wakw nations.

Xelsilem coined for himself the term “language revitalization activist” and is one of the most vocal and visible champions of the cause here on the coast. He has organized weekly language nights, immersion gatherings, a podcast and SquamishLanguage.com.

At Revolutions per Minute (RPM), we’ve been doing our best to keep tabs on the growing movement of language revitalization. I recently wrote about Xelsilem in Technology and 10%: Language Revitalization:

“…apparently only 5.1 percent of B.C. First Nations people are fluent speakers of their language, making each language nearly extinct if not extinct already. Of Rivers’ Squamish language, he estimates there are only 4 fluent speakers left.

There is also this number: 10 percent. That’s what it takes to bring a language back to life. If 1 in 10 members of a Nation are fluent, their language can be saved from extinction.”

Further to that, from InsideVancouver, Squamish For Dummies: Cool New Squamish-English Dictinary:

To read the rest of the article on Pass It To The Left’s website, click here.