Rosser’s Indigenous Language Club

Introductions & Greetings 2018-20

Rosser’s Indigenous Language Club Introductions & Greetings

This book is dedicated to the students, staff & community of Rosser Elementary School.

Researched & Designed by Brandi Price & Brentwood Park Indigenous Students. Photo Credits: Brandi Price Picture Credits: Pixabay.com Audio Recording: Brentwood Park Indigenous students Edited by Burnaby Indigenous Resource Team 2018-2020

Table of Contents 1. What is Indigenous Language Club Page 2 2. Acknowledgements Page 2 3. Kwak’wala Page 3 4. Page 3 5. Nēhiyawēwin-Y Dialect Page 4-5 6. Secwepemctsín Page 6 7. Secwepemctsín Page 7 8. Español Page 7 9. Secwepemctsín Page 8 10. Kwak’wala Page 9 11. Indigenous Language Map of Page 10 12. Map of the World Page 11 13. UNESCO status of Indigenous Languages in Canada Page 12-13

14. Resources Page 14

About Indigenous Language Club Rosser language club is a safe place for students to increase their awareness of the Indigenous languages in Canada and is inclusive to all languages. All Indigenous languages in Canada are at a high risk of becoming endangered or extinct due to the impacts of colonization and residential schools. Indigenous communities are currently engaged in a variety of efforts to maintain and revitalize their languages. Using the Truth And Reconciliation (TRC), section 13 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (UNDRIP), article 13 as a guide, I wanted to create an opportunity for urban indigenous students who come from various cultural backgrounds to explore, learn, research and play with their ancestral language through firstvoices.com, learnmichif.com, youtube and other online platforms. This year, our focus is to build knowledge on their identity, boost self-esteem, confidence and instill pride. We acknowledge that Indigenous languages rely heavily on oral speaking, therefore, the writ- ten and oral aspects within this book will vary from community to community. This book is considered a working document therefore there may be errors in both the written and oral component. Mistakes are a natural part of language learn- ing. The words and phrases represent survival level only.

Acknowledgements

We respectfully thank the three host nations of Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) and səl̓ ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for allowing us to learn our languages in their traditional unceded territory. Also, we would like to thank and acknowledge the Indigenous Education Team, Burnaby School District administration, parents and communi- ty members for supporting our students on this life-long journey. Finally, a special thank you to our Indigenous elders and their respective communities for your strength, love and knowledge for allowing your voices to be recorded to ensure it is passed down to the next generation of learners.

Gila Kasla, Ms. Brandi Price, We Wai Kai Nation Indigenous Resource Teacher Brentwood Zone (Elementary)

2 Gila Kasla. Welcome Juleonƛən I’m Juleon

Yaw! Hello Juleon tuminits. My name is Juleon

3 Tansi! Bonjour Tate nitisiyihkâson. Je m’appelle Tate.

4 Tansi! Hello Aubree nitisiyihkâson.

My name is Aubree.

5 Weyt-kp! Bonjour! Mercedes ren skwekwst. Je m’appelle Mercedes

6 Weyt-kp! Hello

Christian ren skwekwst. My name is Christian.

Hola! Me llamo Christian.

7 Weyt-kp! Bonjour Mario ren skwekwst. Je m’appelle Mario

8 Gila Kasla. Welcome Ms. Brandiƛən I’m Ms. Brandi

9

Nēhiyawēwin Nēhiyawēwin

Secwepemctsín Secwepemctsín

Indigenous Language Map of of Map Canada Language Indigenous

wala

’

Kwak Nuxalk

10

from?

Where is your your is Where

ancestral language language ancestral

Map of the World World the of Map

Español

11 UNESCO status of Indigenous Langauges in Canada UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) states that there are approxi- mately 70 distinct Indigenous languages within 12 language families (a set of languages that currently spo- ken across Canada today. A majority of those languages are in the province of British Colombia. There are also notable dialect differences within the language groups. In addition, Statistics Canada shows that the overall number of speakers has grown by 3.1% in the last 10 years. UNESCO defines four levels of endan- germent ranging from safe (not endangered) to extinct (no living speakers). The levels of endangerment are: 1) Vulnerable (not spoken by children outside their home) 2) Definitely endangered (children not speaking) 3) Severely endangered (spoken by the oldest generation) 4) Critically endangered (spoken by few of the oldest generations). hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓

Hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ is a Indigenous language spoken by the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) and səl̓ ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil- Waututh) peoples. It is one of the three dialects of within the Salishan in Southwest of and Washington State. According to UNESCO, hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ is severely en- dangered, which means there are few speakers and is at high risk of becoming extinct. Currently, the Uni- versity of British Columbia offers courses on UBC campus. Kwak’wala Language: Kwak’wala is an Indigenous language spoken by the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples. It belongs to the Wakashan linguistic language family. It is one of five dialects in the North eastern Vancouver Island and adjacent mainland region. According the UNESCO, the status of the Kwak’wala language is critically endangered, therefore at high risk of becoming extinct. Nēhiyawēwin Language: Nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree-Y) is an Indigenous language spoken by the Plains Cree peoples in the region of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Montana (USA). It belongs to the Algonquian linguistic family. Nēhiyawēwin language is one of eight dialects. According the UNESCO, the status of the Plains is considered vulnerable, which means although there are many speakers of this language, it is still at risk to becoming endangered. : Nuxalk Langauge is an Indigenous Language spoken by the Nuxalk peoples. It is belongs to the Salishan linguistic family. The primarily live in the Bella Coola valley on the central Coast of British Columbia. They are an amalgamation of four main territorial divisions, and each group spoke the same lan- guage with their own dialect, and today refer to themselves as the Nuxalkmc. According to the UNESCO, the status of the Nuxalk language considered critically endangered, which means there are few speakers, therefore at high risk of becoming extinct.

12 UNESCO status of Indigenous Langauges in Canada

Secwepemctsín Language: Secwepemctsín is an Indigenous language spoken by the Secwepemc peoples. They are a sub group belonging to the Salishian linguistic language family. It is one of two dialects of the Central and Southern Interior of British Columbia. According to the UNESCO, the status of the language is severely endangered, which means that the language is spoken by the grandparents and or older generations; while the parents may understand it, they do not speak it to children or amongst t themselves, which means there are very few speakers, therefore at high risk of becoming extinct. Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh Language Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh is an Indigenous language is spoken by the Squamish peoples in the Vancouver area of Brit- ish Columbia, Canada. It is one of many dialects within the Salishan linguistic language family in Southwest of British Columbia and Washington State. According to UNESCO, the status of the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh lan- guage is severely endangered, which means its at high risk to becoming extinct. Currently, Simon Fraser University offers a full time immersion program at the downtown SFU campus in Vancouver.

13 Resources

First Peoples’ Heritage Language & Culture. 2005. First Peoples’ Language Map of British Columbia. First Peoples’ Heritage. Language & Culture Council. Online version: http://maps.fphlcc.ca/

First Voices. 2010-2019. “First Voices.” First People's Council Foundations Publishing. Online version: https://www.firstvoices.com/ Fpcc. "Kwak'wala." FirstVoices. 2000-2019. Accessed April 26, 2019. https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/ FV/sections/Data/Kwak'wala/Kwak̓ wala/Kwak̓ wala.

Fpcc. “Nuxalk.” FirstVoices. 2000-2019. Accessed April 26, 2019. https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/ FV/sections/Data/Nuxalk/Nuxalk/Nuxalk.

Fpcc. “Secwepmec.” FirstVoices. 2009-2019. Accessed April 26, 2019. https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/ FV/sections/Data/Secwepmec/Secwepmec/Secwepmc.

Miyo Wahkohtowin Community education Authority (MWCEA) and Waugh, Dr. Earle. “Cree Online Diction- ary.” Canadian Heritage. Intelimedia Inc. Online version: http://www.creedictionary.com/

Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. Paris, UNESCO Pub- lishing. Online version: http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas

Solomon Ratt. 2014. Chapter One Making Introductions-Two Dalogues and Vocabulary. Cree Literacy Net- work, WordPress. Online verson: https://creeliteracy.org/2014/09/12/making-introductions-two-dialogues-and -vocabulary-from-solomon-ratt/

Statistics Canada.” Census in Brief: The Aboriginal Languages of First Nations People, Métis and Inuit, Gov- ernment of Canada, Statistics Canada, 25 Oct. 2017, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98- 200-x/2016022/98-200-x2016022-eng.cfm.

Thank You Plains Cree, Cathy Wheton Bird, 24 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKFPywVu05o.

14

Kwak’wala h ə n ̓ ̓ ə m ● i n Thank You ̓ ə m ̓

● Merci Nēhiyawēwin ● Gracias Gracias

Nēhiyawēwin

S ḵ w x

̱ w ú 7 m e

s

h

Secwepemctsín