What we Heard Report: Implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act — October 2, 2020 — Alberta

CONTEXT

The Government of Canada is undertaking a variety of consultation activities across Canada on the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, with a focus on the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and Directors and the Indigenous Languages Funding Model.

These consultation sessions will help the Minister of Canadian Heritage make recommendations to the Governor in Council for the appointment of a Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and up to three Directors. Feedback from these sessions will also inform the development of the Indigenous Languages Funding Model.

For further details and information about the Indigenous Languages Act and current consultations, we invite you to read our Discussion guide: Consultations and Engagement on the Implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act.

A summary of the most recent consultation session is provided below. The summary is not a complete account of the discussions. Instead, it highlights the key themes that emerged from this consultation session. Please visit the online consultation portal and review the discussion guide to share your own and/or additional views.

PARTICIPANTS OVERALL COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONNER OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES

The following considerations and themes were raised during the discussion on the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages:

Roles and Responsibilities:

Participants raised a number of potential roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, including:

• Establishing mechanisms to gather people working in the area of Indigenous languages revitalization to share best practices and think creatively about solutions;
• Addressing the specific needs of people living off reserve and the resulting loss of language for those leaving reserves;
• Recognizing the important notion of Indigenous languages “champion”: the Commissioner should be able to speak about the issues in a way that fully reflects the diversity of views and realities around all Indigenous languages;

Participants also mentioned the importance of “not reinventing the wheel” and thought that the Office’s representatives should determine whether there might be some lessons learned from the Commissioner of Official Languages.

Plans and Priorities:

The discussion on key plans and priorities highlighted that the Office should focus on a number of key areas in the first few years of operation, including:

• Supporting research on the current state of Indigenous languages;
• Promoting greater awareness of the Indigenous Languages Act and Indigenous languages;
• Establishing baselines for measuring success going forward.

Examples of key areas to measure include: spoken, written and reading proficiency in Indigenous languages; the establishment and growth of Indigenous language programming; and access to Indigenous language services.

Selection of a Commissioner and Directors:

Participants highlighted that the Commissioner and Directors should:

• Be selected in consultation with Nations;
• Represent Treaty Indians;
• Possess significant on-the-ground experience working on Indigenous language revitalization at the community level; and
• Have both traditional knowledge and cultural awareness, and a strong understanding of research and data.

In addition, participants indicated that the Commissioner should be fluent in an Indigenous language.

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES FUNDING MODEL

The following considerations and themes were raised during the discussion on the proposed Indigenous Languages Funding Model:

Funding Allocations and Priorities:

With respect to the Indigenous Languages Funding Model, participants indicated that:

• Funding should prioritize those languages that are most at risk, but also recognize that Indigenous languages that are not as critically endangered as others still have significant needs; and
• Funding allocations should take into account population.

What to Fund and Who to Fund:

According to participants, an Indigenous Languages Funding Model should:

• Enable funding for a broad range of activities needed to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages;
• Support communities to undertake their own language assessments;
• Encourage the involvement of Elders and facilitate information-sharing with Elders, practitioners and others;
• Recognize that a range of programs and initiatives, targeted at different groups and across a number of areas, are required, depending on the communities and languages in question.

For example, participants noted that some communities will focus on young children and fostering Indigenous languages in the home; others will prioritize language camps, immersion programs or land-based and ceremony-based learning; while others will focus on the development of tools and programs like virtual learning for youth, young adults and people in an urban setting.

Many participants also stressed that funding should go directly to community-based efforts.

Defining and Measuring Success:

According to participants, success will not always be easy to measure, and it will look different for every group and for every language.

Some quantitative indicators of success include:

• Increased number of fluent speakers and of young people speaking, reading or understanding their Indigenous languages;
• Increased verbal and written proficiency;
• Concrete value given to Indigenous languages in the mainstream education system (i.e. credit course in high school);
• Increased availability of printed or online materials, including children’s literature, in Indigenous languages

Co-developed surveys could track success over time.

Qualitative indicators of success include:

• Greater acceptance by non-Indigenous people;
• Policy development and alignment across jurisdictions;
• Inclusion of Elder and youth; and
• Young people understanding and valuing their culture, and being proud of who they are.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Participants note a number of other recommendations, including:

• Ensuring a whole-of-government and holistic approach on the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, including involving provinces and territories;
• Holding governments accountable and ensuring they really hear what Indigenous communities are saying;
• Learning lessons from the French-language education experience; and
• Establishing an Indigenous Languages Act advisory committee, composed of fluent Elders.

Finally, participants emphasized that language has spirit and it is up to Indigenous communities to pass it along to future generations.