Language-in-education policies and Indigenous language revitalization efforts in Canada: Considerations for non-dominant language education in the Global South

Abstract

<jats:p>Indigenous languages are struggling for breath in the Global North. In Canada, Indigenous language medium schools and early childhood programs remain independent and marginalized. Despite government commitments, there is little support for Indigenous language-in-education policy and initiatives. This article describes an inaugural, country-wide, federally-funded, Indigenous-led language revitalization research project, entitled NE?OL?EW? (one mind-one people). The project brings together nine Indigenous partners to build a country-wide network and momentum to pressure multi-levels of government to honour agreements enshrining the right of children to learn their Indigenous language. The project is documenting approaches to create new Indigenous language speakers, focusing on adult language learners able to keep the language vibrant and teach their language to children. The article reflects upon how this Northern emphasis on Indigenous language revitalization and country-wide networking initiative is relevant to mother tongue-based education and policy examples in the Global South. The article underscores the need for both community level initiatives (top-down) and government level policy and funding (bottom up) to support child and adult Indigenous language learning.</jats:p>

kiwētotētan: ininiw kiskinomākēwin a framework for decolonial education

“…To implement ininiw kiskinomākēwin within a Western system, work needs to be done to build a stronger teacher workforce by providing more opportunities for existing teachers to learn and re-connect with the language and teachings or to formally acknowledge the competency of Elders and Knowledge Holders as teachers. Some teacher training programs have worked to include aspects of Indigenous worldviews in the form of cultural competency training, but more often than not teachers graduating from Eurocentric institutions do not have the skills or knowledge to teach from an Indigenous worldview (Battiste, 2013, p. 116;McIvor & Ball, 2019). Some work has been done on recognizing language as an important skill and institutions have begun to offer certificates in teaching Indigenous languages (Passey & Laurin, 2019).…”

“…Work in schools is now moving toward an integration approach where Indigenous teachings, languages and ecological knowledge are added into a Western institution/curriculum through the development of land-based (Bowra et al, 2021;Cherpako, 2019) and language programs (McIvor & Ball, 2019;Coronel-Molina et al, 2016). However, the integration approach fails to achieve the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental development of the child of a true Indigenous education because the dominant Western (Eurocentric) systems are inherently racist and "generate(d) selfdoubt in students, leading them to discount their inherent capacities and gifts, their Elders' wisdom and knowledge, and their tribal values and teachings" (Battiste, 2013, p. 65).…”

“…Since the 1970s, the number of Indigenous educators and specialised programs to train Indigenous teachers have grown significantly (AFN, 2010;RCAP, 1996, p. 407;McIvor et al, 2018). Despite these gains there is still a problem finding teachers to teach the language and culture (McIvor & Ball, 2019). The problem is teachers are certified by Western institutions which focus on delivering curriculum and, because of colonization, many Indigenous teachers have lost their own cultural knowledge (Battise, 2013, p. 116).…”

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“…An authentic effort to address the exclusion of children who speak a non-dominant language must also support the learning goals of non-dominant language communities that often go beyond the medium of instruction to address their right to cultural continuance through culturally sustaining pedagogy. Lack of cultural relevance or inaccurate portrayals of one's culture in curriculum are well-known barriers to successful engagement of members of nondominant communities in education in high-income as well as low-income countries (Ball 2004, Ball & McIvor 2013, Battiste 2013, Coulter & Jimenez-Silva 2017, McIvor & Ball 2019.…”

Using technology to facilitate partnerships between schools and Indigenous parents: A narrative review

“…Stanton et al (2019) firmly believed that the recognition of Indigenous leadership in decision-making was fundamental and attested helpful in culturally responsive approaches to the use of technology. That is, every digital story work, narrative-based prototype, or any project that integrates cultural values, beliefs, norms, or traditions required participative discussion and final verification from community leaders (Hill, 2018;McIvor & Ball, 2019). The involvement of the community leaders was powerful (Muller, 2012), not only for decolonising digital media (Hill, 2018) but also for optimising the acquisition of Indigenous new words for children (Lavoie et al, 2014).…”