Reclaiming Indigenous Languages

(Re)Invigorating family and community leadership in Inuit bilingual education

“…In many ways, our research results mirror other studies in language revitalization that underline the centrality of family, alongside complementary action in schools, legislation, and so on (McCarty & Nicholas, 2014). The grassroots, contextualized, and relational leadership described by participants is consistent with other descriptions of Indigenous leadership (e.g.…”

“…The narratives of elders, Inuit educational leaders, teachers, and parents about what is working well in bilingual education, particularly with regard to developing proficiency in Inuktitut alongside English, emphasized leadership in the home and community. This emphasis is echoed in other Inuit and Indigenous contexts that recognize family and community as the heart of language development (McCarty & Nicholas, 2014), and parents and communities as de facto policy makers (García, 2009). In the following sections, we share participants’ experiences with embracing multilingualism, setting family language policies, and teaching or learning Inuktitut around town.…”

“…Yet, some parents struggle to engage with the school system and struggle to facilitate home language learning. Family and community leadership and Indigenous language education thrive alongside family agency and voice (Hornberger, 2009; McCarty & Nicholas, 2014). In this article, we suggest focus in bilingual education needs to shift towards the centrality of family leadership as a community-identified priority (as it has been in successful Māori, Hawaiian, and Mohawk examples), rather than continued attention to what Smith (1999) calls distractions, including the ideological accounts of parent-blamed failure Mary Simon referred to, or justifications for clawing back bilingual and intercultural education seen in the Nunavut Education Act Review.…”

“…Hawaiian immersion schools, modelled after the Māori programs, were also led by parents and community members, and have had excellent results revitalizing language and supporting student success (Wilson & Kamanā, 2001). Other examples include the Kahnawake Survival School and Akwesasne Freedom School, created by Mohawk parents as parallel schools to resist assimilation and provide children with learning opportunities in Mohawk and following Mohawk ways (McCarty & Nicholas, 2014). A key and shared characteristic of the Māori, Hawaiian, and Mohawk schools was the sustained family leadership at each stage, from visioning to implementation of the schools, and having parents engaged and contributing as teachers and learners alongside their children.…”

Toward Designing and Implementing Language Revitalization Programs in Academia and Community

“…instance, whileNutti (2018) implements the Sami LR program on the Sami's grouse hunting theme of trap making, snow-depth measurement, and traditional body measurement, Hopi language program in Arizona is designed so that Hopi children learn their Indigenous language, identity, and values through qatsitwi, or Hopi cultural practices and ceremonies(McCarty & Nicholas, 2014).…”