Moving Towards a Language Nest: Stories and Insights from nḱmaplqs

Abstract

A language nest is an early language learning program for young children from infancy to five years of age. Language nests have the potential to reconnect young Indigenous children to their languages and cultures within the heart of their communities. The first author, a settler scholar and mother and grandmother of language nest children, shares some insights and experiences from her doctoral research with community members who have been involved in developing a language nest in nḱmaplqs, the Head of the Lake Okanagan Indian Band community in Vernon, British Columbia.The second author, an Okanagan Indian Band community member and Language and Culture Lead for her community, describes the language nest in the present day. We offer these stories and words of language nest development to encourage other Indigenous communities who are engaged in their own journeys of reclamation. 1 2

Online photovoice to engage indigenous Cook Islands youth in the exploration of social and ecological wellbeing amidst a global disruption

“…In observing the impacts of loss of language and the ways of learning across the Pacific, the Tangata Whenua (Indigenous people of Ateaora New Zealand) developed a programme commonly known as the "the language nest, " which aims to revitalize the Māori language in early-childhood education (Benton, 1989;Chambers and Saddleman, 2020). The language nest programme, which originated in the 1980s, was then accelerated by women in the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga and Samoa who recognized the consequences of the loss of their language and culture, and thus took action to ensure that not only their languages would be passed on to their children, but also key social-cultural values that promote indigenous ways of learning (Glasgow, 2019).…”