Transcript
Transcript: Preserving and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Canada
[00:00:00 Animated CSPS logo.]
[00:00:08 Josianne Paul appears full screen. Text on screen: Josianne Paul, Canada School of Public Service / École de la fonction publique du Canada.]
Josianne Paul: Hello, everyone, my name is Josianne Paul, and I am the Acting director of the Policy and Strategic Relationship team here at the Canada School of Public Service. I am happy to be moderating this event on preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages in Canada.
Before I go any further, I would like to acknowledge that I am in Ottawa, on the unceded land of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people, who have been living here since time immemorial. I acknowledge and thank the land on which we live and work, and the people who have cared for it.
Some of you today may be joining us from various parts of the country. I, therefore, encourage you to take a moment to recognize and acknowledge the territory that you are occupying.
Did you know that there are over 70 Indigenous languages in Canada? The Cree languages, which have more than 100,000 speakers, Inuktitut and Ojibwe, are the most frequently reported languages spoken by more than two-thirds of the Indigenous population.
Dr. Wade Davis, Anthropologist and Leadership Chair in Culture and Ecosystem at Risk at the University of British Columbia stated in 2019 that “A language, of course, is not just a set of grammatical rules or a vocabulary. It's a flash of the human spirit, the vehicle by which the soul of a particular culture comes into the material world. Every language is an old growth forest of mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of social, spiritual, and psychological possibilities.” Each is a window into a universe, a monument to the specific culture that gave it birth and whose spirit it expresses.
Of the 7,000 extinct languages, fully half were not being taught to children. Every fortnight, some elder passes away and carries with him or her into the grave the last syllables of an ancient tongue. Every two weeks, another language dies.
These words of profound wisdom have a special connotation, because at the close of the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution designating the period from 2022 to 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. The resolution stated that it was essential to draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote them, and that urgent action was needed at the national and international levels to achieve this.
This year we celebrate the fifth anniversary of Canada's Indigenous Languages Act, which received royal assent in 2019.
Our panel of esteemed guests all have experiences in supporting and preserving Indigenous languages. We will learn with them today how the Act came about, and how we can better preserve, revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages.
Thank you all for joining us today. Now that I have set the stage, I would like to invite you, our guest speakers, to introduce yourselves,
[00:03:32 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: and to tell us a little bit more about your views and experience in preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages in Canada. I will ask each of you to provide a short presentation and then to participate in the panel discussion. During the presentation, we ask our learners who would like to ask questions to feel free to do so. You can do it through the chat that is located at the top right corner of your screen, and we will address as many questions as possible during the discussion.
So, for participants who wish to ask questions during the presentations, feel free to do so in the language of your choice. You can do this by clicking on the right side, at the top of your screen, and we will try to answer as many questions as possible during the discussion period.
So, now let's begin.
With no further ado, let's start. Tasha, would you like to introduce yourself and say a few words, please?
[00:04:30 Tasha Cloutier appears full screen. Text on screen: Tasha Cloutier, Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine canadien.]
Tasha Cloutier: Absolutely. Hi, everybody. Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day. It's always a day of great celebration. Just always a special day for us. We're usually wandering out somewhere at an event. I just want to really thank you all for being here today and spending part of your National Indigenous Peoples Day with us.
My name is Tasha Cloutier. I was born Tasha Paul, and I'm from the Woodstock First Nation in New Brunswick. Our language is called the [Indigenous language] and it is an endangered language. I think there's probably about a couple dozen speakers left. It's really with great humility and a super sense of responsibility that I come here today to talk to you about the Indigenous Languages Act.
Personally, now, I'm working in the Indigenous Languages Branch at Canadian Heritage. I've been there for a year, and I'm really enjoying my work in this particular unit, and I'd just like to talk to you a bit about the Act, and how it came about, and what we're doing with it.
As Josianne said, there are more than 70 Indigenous languages in Canada. Many of them are unique and have key elements connected to culture and identity. Three quarters of the languages are endangered, but none are considered safe. In the 2021 census, only 237,000 people said that they could conduct a conversation in an Indigenous language, and that's about 13% of Indigenous people.
I think a lot of you are familiar with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and their 94 Calls to Action. Three of them relate to Indigenous languages, number 13, 14, and 15. This includes the legislative recognition that Indigenous languages are rights; the creation of the Act; and the creation of what's called the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages.
The Act itself was co-developed in partnership between Canadian Heritage and representatives from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council, and included their own governing groups, language experts, academics, and others to inform its development. That collaboration ensured that the legislation would be reflective of the distinct geographical, political, and cultural contexts that impact Indigenous people in preserving, promoting, and revitalizing their languages.
One of the key cornerstones, or key principles of this Act was that it recognizes for the first time that Indigenous languages are part of the rights of Indigenous people that are affirmed under Section 35 of the Constitution. It facilitates meaningful opportunities for Indigenous people to collaborate in policy development related to the implementation of the Act. It created, as I mentioned, the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. It has [inaudible] within it that facilitate cooperation between Indigenous governments, organizations, and provincial territorial governments.
Importantly, it's starting to establish measures to facilitate adequate, sustainable, and long-term funding to Indigenous people. It outlines the federal institution's various roles with respect to providing services in Indigenous languages where the capacity and demand exists. It also requires reviews, so a parliamentary review every three years and independent reviews every five years.
I'd like to touch on the funding models that were developed. Canadian Heritage worked collaboratively with Métis First Nation and Inuit partners to develop distinctions-based funding models for languages that move away from departmental-driven, call for proposals type processes. Last fiscal year, new co-developed funding models were introduced.
What they do, or seek to do, is increase Indigenous autonomy and control over funding decisions, introduce longer term funding arrangements that support multi-year strategies, basically with the intent of moving away from proposal-based funding year over year. I think anyone here that works in Grants and Contributions understands how difficult it is for organizations to maintain the pace required to be in the Grants and Contribution System.
It's moving away from that and transitioning away from the one-size-fits-all type approaches, to approaches that are tailored to the distinct needs of our partners. I find that really inspiring to work within my branch with folks in operations and policy who work really hard to make sure that we are putting the utmost control within the hands of Indigenous people instead of remaining in these calls for proposal processes. Since 2019, Canada has provided about a billion dollars' worth of investments from the fiscal year 1920 to 28/29, with $162. 7 million ongoing to support the Languages Act.
Moving on, we're always in collaboration with our Indigenous partners: National Indigenous Organizations; the self-governing Indigenous Governments; organizations in a variety of different forms to ensure that language priorities and needs are met to the best of our ability with the available funding. Essentially, we are supporting different language projects and priorities that are unique to the needs of communities and organizations.
I was asked to touch on the Office of the Indigenous Languages Commissioner and give you an overview of what they do. I'll call it OCIL now, so Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. It's an independent, arm's length entity from the Government of Canada. Their mandate is to support Indigenous people in their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain, and strengthen languages; to facilitate the resolution of disputes and review complaints that are set out in the Act; promote public awareness of the richness and diversity of Indigenous languages. I encourage you to go and follow them on social media because they're very active there, and you'll see a lot of posts from them with videos and materials, and you'll see what they're doing on the ground. They are also responsible to support innovation in Indigenous language revitalization through use of technology and different approaches to Indigenous language education and revitalization.
We work with them. We have a bilateral relationship with them where we provide them with support to speak to the federal system. This year, their annual report is going to contain some input that was provided by various departments to give them a sense of what each department is doing to implement the Indigenous Languages Act. There's two reports on their website, and there'll be a new one published this fall.
Another thing that our shop is working on is – the Act itself, as I mentioned before, outlines the role of federal institutions in providing access to services in Indigenous languages. It does say where capacity and demand exist. In 2021/2022, our department launched an interdepartmental ADM Steering Committee on Services in Indigenous Languages. It's co-chaired by my ADM and ESDC. There was also an inventory created of current access to federal services in Inuktut, in Nunavut, because that was just a super logical place to start, given the large populations of Inuktut-speaking people. In 2022, we also we began exploring pilot projects with our Inuit partners to inform the potential development of regulations on access to federal services.
So, that's the federal, the public service overview of the Indigenous Languages Act. I'm open to answering any questions people might have, but from a personal perspective, it's just been super rewarding to be able to work with this piece of legislation, to be able to talk to our partners, to hear from them about their unique needs.
It can be hard. Sometimes listening to partners – Josianne was saying earlier when she was quoting Dr. Wade Davis talking about elders passing away. We hear that from our partners a lot about the loss of one elder has just such a profound impact on a community and on a language. Sometimes it's hard, and hard work, but I really love it. I guess that's it for me for now, unless there's specific questions to come up later in the panel. But thank you.
[00:14:11 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Tasha. It's really nice to see that it's a work of heart and head. I love how you describe it. Now, I would like to turn the floor to Terry Aulda. Terry, over to you.
[00:14:40 Terry Audla appears full screen.]
Terry Audla: [Indigenous language] Thank you very much again. Happy National Indigenous Day to everyone, and I'm very happy to be speaking today on the Indigenous languages and share my experience as an Inuk that grew up in Nunavut, where just recently in 2008, the Nunavut government had passed the Official Languages Act, which recognizes Inuktut, for the Inuit, English and French language as the official languages within the territory.
The Inuit language, or Inuktut, includes Inuinnaqtun, which is spoken in the western part of Nunavut, and Inuktitut. In the 2006 census, 64% of respondents reported using the Inuktut in the home, even though it is the mother tongue of 83% of the population. This represents a decline of 12% in the previous 10 years to 2006. It's partly due to a very large young population with a median age, at the time, of 23 years, compared to Canada's median age of 39 to 40.
I've had the amazing privilege of working in that environment and regaining my language, because at one point I had almost lost it, growing up I had in the high Arctic in Resolute Bay. It was mostly because of the fact that it was a highly transient community, meaning a lot of non-Inuktituk speakers were coming through. And then on top of that, within the school Inuktitut, or Inuktut, was not taught so as time passed, it was spoken less and less. And it took me to start working for the representative of Inuit organizations, and reporting to a mostly unilingual Inuktut speaking board that helped me regain my language back.
It's something that I feel very strongly about. As Josianne had mentioned in her introduction, it's more just the spoken words. It's a lens as to your understanding and knowledge of the world around you. I always suggest that the more languages you know, the more comprehensive understanding you have of any concept that you may be speaking on, depending on the language.
I'm very happy, again, to be presenting today and to also field any questions that you may have. I've had also the amazing privilege of going to New Zealand and looking at what they've done to protect the Māori language, the language nests that they have, the official languages aspect on a national basis and how Māori is taught from preschool, through K through 12, and the young Māori being able to preserve their language and culture over in New Zealand. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.
When it comes to Nunavut, they're still working on trying to get that built into the education system. As it stands right now, it's offered from K through 12. But the unfortunate aspect of that is those that are in the Inuktut stream up to grade 4, as soon as they hit grade five, they have to start catching up on the English language curriculum that happens. It sometimes leads to these students falling behind. Which results, in some cases, some of those students, unfortunately, dropping out because they have been left behind in that aspect. So, there's currently some work towards getting that up to grade 12.
I've had the privilege as well, as President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, to work with Mary Simon, who's now the Governor General on working towards standardizing the written language of Inuktut, considering that the writing system itself was created by non-Inuktitut speakers called Syllabics. Which ourselves, the Inuit, and the Cree share when it comes to the writing system based on the actual syllables of our Inuktut language. So, work is still ongoing in trying to change that so that it is a unified language written system.
So again, thank you, Josianne. I'll leave it there for now, but I'll be available for any questions.
Thanks again.
[00:20:32 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you very much, Terry, for sharing your lived experience. It's really enlightening. Mandy Bayha is also joining us today. I would like to turn the floor to her now.
So, Mandy, over to you.
[00:20:50 Mandy Bayha appears full screen. Text on screen: Mandy Bayha, Western Arctic Field Unit, Parks Canada / Mandy Bayha, Unité de gestion de l'Arctique de l'Ouest, Agence Parcs Canada.]
Mandy Bayha: [Indigenous language.] Hi, I'm Mandy Bayha. I just wanted to say a quick prayer. The elders that raised me and continue to actively be involved in all parts of our community always remind us all the time to always keep the Creator first in all the things that we do. I wanted to show respect and homage to them and open with a prayer. But I also wanted to say merci, thank you, to Terry and Tasha as well for your presentations. Beautiful. Also, Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day to everyone.
I'm Mandy Bayha. I am calling in from Délı̨nę, Northwest Territory, on the shores of Great Bear Lake in Denede Treaty 11 Territory. I'm a Sahtu Dene woman, a woman of Great Bear Lake. You see just behind me here, this is Great Bear Lake. This is the lake in which my people have inhabited for thousands and thousands of years, and so I'm absolutely honoured to be able to represent them today.
I'm the Park Site Manager for the Saoyú-ʔehdacho National Historic Site, located here in Délı̨nę. We are also part of the Western Arctic Field Unit. I'm fairly new in my position. I'm just here a little over a year, and I'm here to share a story on how language is being incorporated into the work that we do on a daily basis.
A bit of a background on the agreement itself. We are following a co-management style, which is really interesting. When the leaders at the time wanted to establish this historic site, the only model that they saw that really made sense that they were interested in was this co-management model style. What that means is that we have representatives, in our management style, how we manage and make decisions for the historic site is through the advisors and the people that sit on our management board. The management board members are comprised of Parks Canada appointed members, as well as the local Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę government appointed people.
Interestingly, just in the timing of how I had come into the position, we also had a new co-chair as well as a new appointed member. There were three of us new coming into Parks Canada in the workspace here in Délı̨nę. Our first meeting, a big part of it was to just sit and learn, listen, and understand what the spirit intent behind why our people wanted to designate a historic site here. What was the reason? When we had our first board meeting, we looked around the table and we're all Indigenous from the community and all first language fluent speakers.
I'd like to acknowledge that I am privileged in that I am a first language fluent speaker of my language, so English is my second language. I understand that language is not safe anywhere, including here, although we are really privileged in the fact that we are very strong and connected to our culture and our language here in the community. It's still a struggle to pass that on to our young people and I think that's the struggle that we all feel and face together.
What happened in our first meeting is that we just defaulted to speaking our own language in the setting of this board meeting. We have a couple of elders that are also on the board with us, and we do have a translator available for the one working group member that comes to support our board, which is our superintendent. It's really interesting how it's shifted where we don't really have translation for our language anymore. We have translation for English. What's more interesting than that is the journey that we're experiencing together.
Immediately, just by defaulting to our language, we were already connected to the elders, the vision, because we are part of this Dene consciousness. It's who we are as Dene people. When you're connected to that worldview, we know the indicator to understanding which worldview that we're thinking and living in is the language. When we're defaulting to our language, that means that there is a culturally safe space. That there is a space that is ours that we're comfortable in. Usually, when we start to default to English, we understand that it's not really a culturally safe place, or that it's a largely colonial setting, where it's tough to communicate unless you're speaking in English.
The interesting journey that we've had is that just by speaking our language, we're immediately connected to the spirit intent behind this historic site, which its main goal is to share the story of the Sahtu [Indigenous language] in our people and their land. Our elders say that our language is a gift. It's a spirit in and of itself, but it's also a gift from the Creator, so it is Holy.
That all of us people who are created, we're also gifted with the gift of our own spirit, which is our language. And that that connects us also to the land because it was our environment and our animal relations that helped to teach us that language. That connection is so deep and ancient that it also transcends time and space.
And so, when we're talking about historic sites and stewardship, we're talking about protecting and preserving land, there's always that element that how do we connect our young people to the land? Because we know that the language thrives and is strong when we're out there. This is why the land is so important to us. It's not just our survival. It's not just our food. It's who we are. It's part of an extension of who we are as human beings to be connected this way.
The language really is that pillar for our culture, a pillar for who we are. It's much more when we talk about language, it's like we're talking about something huge. We're talking about worldview; context of socialization; intergenerational knowledge transfer. We're talking about so many things just by the one-word - language. I think it's like English, it sometimes doesn't do justice to sometimes the things that we're trying to explain.
And Indigenous people forever have been trying to explain that everything is holistic, that we have to think in terms of bigger pictures, not just for our generations and ourselves today, but the future, remembering the past. Our language is the tool, the mechanism that helps us to do that. You just are in that instant connected to past, present, and future when we're in that language.
So, I'm really excited about the work that our management board is proposing to do, the goals that we're trying to reach, and it's always in the spirit of supporting our Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę government, which is our local Indigenous government. It's always in the spirit of promoting, protecting language, culture, identity.
And so, with worldview, and big picture, and holistic, we're talking about also indicators. Because I also teach language classes when they're available. Sometimes I'm a mentor in that as well. I also am a mentor for the Mentorship and Apprentice program, just because I know that it is a privilege that I speak my language, I take it as a personal responsibility to do what I can to share that, pass it on, and teach as much as I can.
The interesting thing with new learners is it's really tough when you learn your first language in a different worldview. You're rooted in a different worldview than your own as a Dene person. When we're teaching language and they're asking just simple things of how to introduce yourself or good morning, or these types of things that we have in our day to day, they don't actually exist in the context of our worldview. We've evolved, somewhat, some pieces of our language. But what's more interesting is that we're connecting our young people, or new speakers, to their history. Because even something as simple as talking about your relationships, who you're related to, your kinship ties, is a completely different model and understanding in our perspective and our worldview than it is in the Western sense.
So, as an example, we have multiple words for... It's not just Auntie and Uncle. It's so specific to us in that it's our aunt or our relation from our mother's side, or our father's side. And that in turn creates this huge, complex social structure. And the ways, and the protocols, and the laws that we have all inform our social structure. But the language essentially is what has been the mechanism and the vehicle in which connects us to all of these things simultaneously.
And so, language in and of itself is important for sure. But when you're understanding it as an indicator, especially social indicators of health. When we look at... You cannot talk about language and identity without talking about colonization, revitalization, reconciliation. There's a reason for that because our social structure currently in the communities that we live in, or the reserves, or the settlements across Canada, are not traditional cultural spaces. They were imposed spaces that we've evolved to navigating through history.
And so, well, what does that mean? I don't know. Until nowadays, we're so lucky to have these conversations. We're so lucky that now there's an interest in understanding Indigenous peoples' stories, worldview, and what this means in this era of reconciliation.
Just going back to the Act, it doesn't really give us permission or validation. It's just who we are. It's definitely a great start because it's the first time in our history as Canadians together that we've ever had that acknowledgement. But it doesn't mean that it was never valid to begin with. With that, there's so much to say, and I feel I look forward to it. I'm so grateful to be invited here to speak about language and its importance, the things that it connects us to. I also feel that it's just not enough time. There's so much to be said about it. There's so many stories to tell. I'm just really grateful to be invited into the space and to hear others. I really look forward to questions and having more conversations. I'd like to say, Mahsi. Thank you.
[00:32:46 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Merci, Mandy. We can really see all the heart you're putting into it, and it's beautiful to see, I have to admit.
Now we will continue with Gaëlle. So, Gaëlle Mollen, I would like to give her the floor to tell us a few words about her perspective.
[00:33:14 Gaëlle Mollen appears full screen. Text on screen: Gaëlle Mollen, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum / Gaëlle Mollen, Musée canadien de l'histoire et Musée canadien de la guerre.]
Gaëlle Mollen: Thank you very much, Josianne. [Indigenous language.]
Hello, everyone. My name is Gaëlle Mollen. I come from the Innu community of Ekuanitshit on the Côte-Nord. I said a few words in Innu, saying that Innu is my mother tongue, and that French is my second and English is my third. I thank my mother every day for passing on the language to me because I know it's not . . .
Sorry, I have someone at my door but . . . I just said in a few words that I thank my mother for passing on to me the mother tongue that is Innu-aimun. I work at the Canadian Museum of History. The museum is located on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe. So, I work at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. I am an Indigenous languages advisor. This is a brand new position, recently created in 2022. This position actually stems from the reorientation of museums.
So, the museum created a framework for relations with Indigenous peoples and within that framework, which linked the relationships; what the museum was doing with Indigenous peoples, there was the creation of a position which was Advisor, Indigenous Languages, and that position was specifically aimed at increasing the visibility of Indigenous languages through the two institutions, the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum.
So, we . . . Just to give you a brief history of the museum's history. Most of the museum's collections, in fact, 55% of the collections that the museum has are Indigenous; a lot in ethnography and also a lot in archaeology. So, the material that the museum has in its possession has been collected over the last 150 years. This was collected previously by anthropologists who went into the communities and met with the Indigenous communities.
So, there were recordings that were made, photographs, films, everything that can involve language, which we still have in the museum.
So, really, in the collections, as I mentioned, we have a lot . . .
I forgot to mention that it's really open, it's for Indigenous communities. So, we are really in the process of identifying in our archives all the material that would contain Indigenous languages. We are truly open to collaborating with all Indigenous communities. So, my role is brand new, but it's really about increasing the visibility of Indigenous languages. Working in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
So, that's pretty much it for me. Thank you.
[00:32:46 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you very much, Gaëlle. I think it's great that you stayed focused. So, we'll continue.
We will continue with the discussion panel. I knew you have touched a little bit on it,
[00:36:34 Josianne Paul appears full screen.]
Josianne Paul likely each of you while you were speaking. But now I would like to hear you speak a little bit about how Indigenous languages are included in your work and in your organization. Can you give me some examples of how Indigenous languages are included in your work, in your organization, some more specific examples?
[00:36:55 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: I will start with Terry because you seem to have had a few examples that you could share with us, so could you please start?
[00:37:05 Terry Audla appears full screen. Text on screen: Terry Audla, Canada School of Public Service / Terry Audla, École de la fonction publique du Canada.]
Terry Audla: Well, thank you, Josianne. Well, as it stands right now, I am with the Canada School of Public Service. Just started a month ago. Unfortunately, within the federal system, outside of Nunavut, not a lot of Inuktut is spoken. But I do know there are initiatives in Nunavut where the federal public service has worked towards providing their services in Inuktut language.
But I'll speak on how early on in my career, when my Inuktut was not as strong, how I regained it by working with the representative Inuit organizations and having to report to mostly unilingual board members. It was just recently after ratification of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. I was lucky enough to have been hired to work with the creation of their land management regime.
For the Inuit, land ownership is a foreign concept and to try and go through the whole technical aspects of what it means to have title to land, to manage those lands, and all the other interests that work themselves into the whole land management aspects: conservationists; environmentalists; mineral extractors; all of that. My role was to try and help manage those lands on behalf of the Inuit.
My first ever report to the board, I tried very hard, being a proud Inuk man, to report to them in the language of Inuktut. But it got to a point where I could no longer speak Inuktut because of the technical terms that were involved. The one term that really flustered me, and forced me to start speaking English, was geographic information system. This was in the spring. I felt so bad. Then come fall, I had to report back to the board.
But between spring and fall, I took the summer to go to every community where we established local land and resource committees. Of all those communities, from the high Arctic [inaudible] sphere to the most southernly community, Sanikiluaq in the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay, I met with each of those committee members, and we went through the whole land management aspects and the regime, the technical aspects, the concepts, and everything else.
Then I got back to the board in the fall, and I aced it. I spoke it. I reported all in Inuktut, and it has to be one of my proudest moments because the board members actually remembered me from the spring when I flubbed up. And, come fall, when they saw that I came back and actually reported fully in Inuktut, they gave me a standing ovation.
So, it was one of my proudest moments. It's something that I hold dear to my heart. It's something that I will never relinquish again. It's truly a gift to be able to speak Inuktut. If there's any way I can help to keep the language strong, I'm here for that. And this is something that I feel would only enrich others. I'll leave it for now. Thank you, Josianne.
[00:41:30 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Terry. And, Mandy, you also touched a little bit about it when you were discussing how your board has naturally moved on, on speaking your home language, as well as speaking and connecting it to the way you conceive the world. Can you explain us a little bit, maybe give us a little bit more concrete example about how you have applied it in the management of the site that you're taking care of.
[00:42:05 Mandy Bayha appears full screen. Text on screen: Mandy Bayha, Western Arctic Field Unit, Parks Canada / Mandy Bayha, Unité de gestion de l'Arctique de l'Ouest, Agence Parcs Canada.]
Mandy Bayha: Mahsi. Terry, wonderful story, and congratulations. It's really heartwarming. So, yes, thank you, Josianne.
Here, in Délı̨nę, at the Saoyú-ʔehdacho National Historic Site, our management board, every meeting is completely in the language. I'm also literate in the language, so I can read and write in the language, and so I usually help and support doing the minutes as well in the language. What's really important about that is that these stories naturally come out. What's interesting is that we're also connecting with the elders that are there with us, but we're also connected to the importance of what life was like on the land before the settlement existed.
We're also really fortunate that that generational gap between where the knowledge was broken or that intergenerational knowledge transfer gap is between my grandparents and me. It was my parents in that generation that went to residential school where a lot of that disconnection happened. We're really fortunate here in Délı̨nę, where we can really just go talk to the elders or the people of my grandparents' age group to understand a way of life. Really, this is what it's all about for us, being Dene, that's who we are.
Well, what does that mean? When we were created this way, it is our destiny to be created who we are. As whatever Indigenous people that we are, whatever people that we are, we are born with a destiny, and we're given the gifts and the spirit and the support in us. I was born in this life as a Sahtúgot'ı̨nę woman, which comes with the gifts of my language, my culture, and all the connections of my ancestry and also the land. I've always said this in the past, and probably because one of my mentors or elders had said it, and it just stuck with me, is that if you want to talk to the land, or for instance, if you wanted to talk to the lake, what would that conversation look like?
I mean, we talk about land acknowledgments now, and I try not to squinch my nose at that, because if you were really going to pay your respects and talk to and make a connection in a relationship with the land or the lake itself, and this is the only way that you can actually protect, preserve, conserve, is to be in a right, balanced relationship with the things that are around you.
As Indigenous people for thousands of years, this is who we have become. Living in that balance is who we are.
And it's our responsibility, not to anyone else, but to the Creator, as well as to future generations, because it is a gift for us to live well. We were loved so much by the Creator, that these are gifts for us to live well, to thrive, to love, to give all of those concepts of what we think are just basic as human beings, to have love and respect, well, those are foundations of living right and in balance with the land.
If you wanted to talk to the land, wherever that you are, it would speak back to you in the Indigenous language of the people of that area, because the Indigenous people of those areas are the living extensions of the land itself. Even the names that we identify ourselves with comes from the land. I'm a human being flowing from Great Bear Lake is essentially a direct translation of what Sahtúgot'ı̨nę means.
And so, with this co-management, it's really interesting because we have an Agency of Parks Canada who also have the mandate to also conserve, protect, promote. And now, with Reconciliation, are really listening to, and trying to incorporate, and honour things like UNDRIP, Truth and Reconciliation. I have to really give a shout out to the Western Arctic Field Unit, my colleagues, all the people that I work with there for really taking that to heart, for always creating a safe place for me to always be myself and also to brag a little bit that we also have a high percentage of Indigenous managers in that field unit.
But I digress, going back to an example of what we're wanting to do, again, even with the key area strategies and the mission and the mandate of even what the historic site represents, just by being able to listen to these stories, to understand a way of life, what that means, preparation for the future. We also have a history of four prophets in our recent history as Holy Men in our community, which really guides and dictates a lot of the things that we've done all the way, things from self-government to everything that we do politically, even, is really driven by, and on the foundations of the elders and their stories, who they were and their spiritual leaders.
We're really fortunate that we have that connection still. But even just with the goals and the things that we want to do in the site, it's about really connecting our young people to the land, to the history, to make safe harbours, to open up these traditional territories to the families and the communities, because that's where we get healing. That's where we live well. That's how we uncover and reveal this destiny of who we are as Sahtúgot'ı̨nę people. How do we share that with the world? How do we share that story about living right and being in balance and how to honour the lands that we live on?
And so, these are the things that our board talks about, and it's so beautiful and inspiring. It's not just a board meeting anymore. You're talking about purpose and destiny and how we can work with each other. How do we take down these barriers and how do we build relationships with each other to do this big task? Because not one of us can do it, but we have to work together to be able to achieve this great vision. So, again, never enough time to talk about these exciting things, but I'll leave it at that for now. Mahsi.
[00:47:57 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Mandy. I would like now to call a little bit more on Gaëlle and then Tasha. You have all spoken about how Indigenous languages are included in your work. But one of the things that I was wondering is what benefit have you found out while applying and taking care of the Indigenous languages in your work?
So, what have you learned about the benefits of including Indigenous languages in your daily work? What have you seen that it has brought? I'll start with Gaëlle and then I'll turn to Tasha.
[00:48:46 Gaëlle Mollen appears full screen. Text on screen: Gaëlle Mollen, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum / Gaëlle Mollen, Musée canadien de l'histoire et Musée canadien de la guerre.]
Gaëlle Mollen: Yes. Well, in fact, as I mentioned earlier, we, the Canadian Museum of History, are among the most visited museums in Canada. I believe the museum welcomes approximately one million visitors annually, whether they are Canadians or international visitors. So, for us, the museum, the mandate is to increase knowledge about cultures and also about Canadian history. By making Indigenous languages visible at the museum, it allows visitors and other Canadians to see that Indigenous languages are still very present here in Canada.
Just to mention a few examples, seeing as earlier I was unable to answer the previous question. Since I started my job as an advisor, for people who have already been to the museum or who have never been, the museum has many visitor guides in several languages, in French and English, but also in several other international languages, but there were no Indigenous languages present. So, in the first year we had our visitor's guide translated into Anishinaabemowin, Inuktitut and Michif. Basically, these are the three languages that represent the three Indigenous groups of Canada.
This is definitely something the museum will continue to do, translating the visitor's guide into several Indigenous languages. So, when an Indigenous person goes to the museum, at least they will be able to have the visitor's guide in their mother tongue, in their language, in fact. So, that's really just one aspect that I was very proud to mention, because it's something that, when I started working at the museum as a hostess a few years ago, long before that, there were no pamphlets, no visitor's guides, no Indigenous languages present.
So, that's really a big step that the museum has taken. Therefore, it is a commitment that the museum will make, to continue to translate the visitor guides into Indigenous languages.
Also, what I forgot to mention is that Indigenous languages are now part of the museum's exhibits; when the museum does exhibits, it will always ensure that there is at least one Indigenous language present if the exhibit includes Indigenous artifacts. So, that's what the museum really wants to include, Indigenous languages in the exhibits, in addition to French and English.
So really, you know, working with Indigenous languages and also working in a national museum, it means that Canadians more aware that Indigenous languages exist but that there is also a variety of Indigenous languages, that there is not just one Indigenous language but that there are more than 70, as you mentioned, Josianne. This is definitely one of the advantages, and something I am very proud to be able to do, to work on Indigenous languages and also to work in collaboration with the communities. Thank you.
[00:51:33 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Gaëlle. It's true everything that you have said, the fact that you take the time to translate in multiple Indigenous languages, the welcoming pamphlet for the museum, and you make time to include those Indigenous languages in your event. It's part of education, right? And making you be seen to others. It helps people to understand you and hear from you. I think it's a really nice step for a more inclusive society.
Now, I would like to move on to Tasha to explore a little bit of that part when I was seeing the benefits. You were telling me that you were talking with people and you had a lot of personal stories. Have you seen some of the benefits of including Indigenous languages and working on that and implementing the Act in the work that you have done? I would like to hear from you.
[00:52:31 Tasha Cloutier appears full screen. Text on screen: Tasha Cloutier, Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine canadien.]
Tasha Cloutier: Thank you, Josianne. I think I have to say first, I'm still sitting here, really just taking in the stories that are being shared by Mandy, Terry, and Gaëlle, and just really feeling rooted and centred in the fact that you're in community, you're hearing the stories of the elders. You're incorporating your languages into your daily work, and it just makes me feel so... I want to use the word jealous, but it's not the right word. But it just makes me feel so heartened because, as somebody who lives in Ottawa and super far from home, I don't have that access to my elders or my language. It's just so beautiful when I get to hear how people are applying that on a daily basis in their work.
There's a couple of questions that have come in while the panel has been going on. One of them, this particular question is, what are the benefits of including Indigenous languages in your work and your organization? Another person has asked us, with the passing of the Indigenous Languages Act, what is the federal government doing, itself, to help revitalize Indigenous languages with federal employees? I'm going to just share some thoughts about that.
In our work, I'd have to say that while the first five years of the implementation of the Act have been focused on supporting communities and organizations and getting the money out there for people like Mandy to continue delivering courses and for people to continue learning the language, we've done a lot of partnership with the Translation Bureau, with the Federal Translation Bureau, because they themselves have been working, and I don't want to speak on their behalf, but they have been working really hard to Indigenize their services. They've been able to put out translations in quite a number of different languages. Gaëlle is probably quite familiar with that.
What we've been doing at our end – and this is so federal, and it's so bureaucratic – but when press releases come out from our ministers, from either Indigenous Services Canada, or CIRNAC, or my minister, or other ministers, we've been translating them into multiple languages, often ones that are more commonly used, or some of the larger languages. But the Translation Bureau has definitely been working hard to increase its capacity and find more translators and interpreters to be able to help anyone, not just federal departments, in incorporating Indigenous languages into their work. That's something I've observed over the last year.
One of the questions was really important, which was, what's the federal government doing to help revitalize languages with employees? Well, I can honestly say, I think we're definitely early days on that. I know that people like Gina Wilson have started asking questions about that. And recently, late last year, there was a Senate study of the Indigenous Languages Act, and you could look it up. But they came out with a number of different recommendations, and one of them was an “elephant in the room” recommendation that has been brought up a lot of times. It's about how can you, or we should, compensate Indigenous employees when they are required to work in an Indigenous language to provide services to the public? I think that, like I said, it's a bit of an elephant in the room that's been mentioned so many times. I think that it'll be incumbent upon the government over the next few years to start looking at that. Looking at, at a base minimum, how we start compensating Indigenous employees who have those skills and are able to provide services in Indigenous languages.
As a Wolastoqey woman working in the NCR in Algonquin territory, how is my employer supporting me with revitalizing my languages, or my language? I think we're early days on that, but I do think that there'll be more conversations to come on that in the future. I think this will be where we turn our attention to in the next couple of years. That's about it. Thank you.
[00:57:01 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Terry, over to you. You would like to add something?
Terry Audla: Yes. I just wanted to add to what Tasha is saying about how important it is to be able to offer the Indigenous language of whichever area you happen to be in.
[00:57:26 Terry Audla appears full screen.]
Terry Audla: I was fortunate enough to lead the federal in Nunavut as the Regional Director General for CIRNAC, the developing and drafting of the Nunavut land use plan. I ended up being the lead spokesperson for the federal team. It was the first time that the federal public servants were hearing compliments that they actually felt that the federal government this time around was really involved with the discussions because of the fact that I was able to speak to the delegation in the Inuktut language.
It just raised the profile, and at the same time, it opened up a lot more opportunities for further discussion just based on the fact that we were able to communicate with the Inuit in the Inuktut language. And I feel that's something that is vital. It loans credence to the federal public service when you do that. And if you happen to be in that geographical area, you need to make sure that you have the people that you are working for understand you, and that you're able to communicate with them. And I think that's something that the federal government is truly working towards, and it only brings more to the actual services that we provide as federal public servants.
[00:59:05 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Terry. Actually, it's the perfect segue for the next question that we have, because we will be moving to the question part of the conversation where we will take a few questions.
We have already answered a few of them while talking and presenting, but I would like to ask a question of you. This one is a little bit from me and a little bit from my colleague, sometimes as public servants, we feel a little bit helpless. We would like to know what, in your view, could help public servants to support Indigenous language moving forward?
So, what can we, as public servants, do to help this movement to maintain and revitalize languages?
Who would like to jump in? Mandy, over to you.
[01:00:04 Mandy Bayha appears full screen. Text on screen: Mandy Bayha, Western Arctic Field Unit, Parks Canada / Mandy Bayha, Unité de gestion de l'Arctique de l'Ouest, Agence Parcs Canada.]
Mandy Bayha: I think that it's really hard as individuals, part of this great big system, and I totally feel you on that in the helplessness feeling. But just like language being an indicator of so many bigger, complex things, the solution is also big and complex, and there's not really an answer for that.
For instance, we do have translation services. We are always asked if we'd like things translated in our language if we're posting things. We do have translators available. But beneath that is we need language champions in our communities. We need to actually build career paths with language that are rooted in... Because one day, or maybe in a couple of decades, are we going to still have translators available, interpreters available? Because right now, the federal government really works to depend and lean on translators or whatever.
But if we don't actually take this seriously and, in the federal government, start to work with its own agencies in its own government, for instance, education and training, how do we promote that? Because we need to have the youth see this as well. What's the use of learning my language if it's not valued or needed? Because they have dreams and hopes and goals for themselves to attend university, or to work, or to have a livelihood.
In that scenario, especially in small isolated communities, and I'm sure it's the same in reserve systems, how is the language going to be a mechanism to help them into a better life if it's not valued in any in other spaces? If, for instance, one of our youths wanted to go and pursue wanting to learn their language, but in the meantime, can also be accredited to be an official translator, or to be a teacher, or to do whatever. We have amazing curriculums that were built by our current language leaders today, but there's nobody stepping up to replace and to carry on to move forward that work.
As partners, as the federal government, more than just this Act in providing funding, we have to incorporate that and work together with the community to build these champions and to really, truly value Indigenous languages. Because with that respect and value and having that special place within the context of our society, generally, that will leave pathways, and inspire language leaders to step up.
So, I think, one, it's to always create safe places for people to speak their languages, for sure, to be interested. But it's such a bigger issue that really requires a lot more work and time, which there's no reason [inaudible], but I'll leave it at that. Anyway, I just wanted to say that because I know that that is a hard thing for a lot of people, especially Canadians, who do want to help, who do want to be part of reconciliation. But it's tough because a lot of people don't know how to help. How do we support these things?
But these conversations are great ways of starting to come up with solutions. But I mean, just it's so much bigger than just, what do we do in our day-to-day? Aside from the people who are speaking the language, speak it anyway. Speak it as much as you can. But we do need to find pathways to make it actually valued. There are spaces for our young people to start coming up and being language leaders. That's what we need. We need the training and support to make those entrenched parts of our day-to-day. Thank you.
[01:04:11 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Mandy. Tasha, I see you nodding. I think you agree with what Mandy said.
Tasha Cloutier: I agree with everything Mandy says. This is the conclusion I've come to today. Everybody needs more Mandy in their lives.
Josianne Paul: See? Mandy, you will have a full-time job speaking to us for the next years.
[01:04:11 Text on screen: Discussion: Preserving and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Canada / Discussion: Préserver et revitaliser les langues autochones au Canada.]
Josianne Paul: The next question will be for Gaëlle.
So, Gaëlle, we were talking about translation problems, problems with having people, continuity in language. Someone was asking the question: How do we at the museum manage these translation problems, translating into Indigenous languages, when there are different dialects, and a lack of translators? How can we continue to make efforts toward the revitalization and promotion of Indigenous languages when we face challenges like these?
[01:05:20 Gaëlle Mollen appears full screen. Text on screen: Gaëlle Mollen, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum / Gaëlle Mollen, Musée canadien de l'histoire et Musée canadien de la guerre.]
Gaëlle Mollen: Yes. It's true that . . . Yes, it's true that it's a bit complicated to find, for our guides, to find the right dialect to choose, to find the right people to translate the text. Basically, the way we operate is that we will always prefer to work with a member of the community. It's true that there are some languages where it's a bit more difficult to find people who can translate them. So, we often do business with the Translation Bureau. I know that it really is . . . depending on the languages, it's not always easy to find people in the community who can help us with the translation. But it's still something we prioritize.
So, we at the museum are really aware that in the archives we still have a lot of material that is still unidentified. So, it's really something we're working on, identifying the material that's in the archives in order to digitize the material, and then share it with communities, especially communities whose languages are dormant or that are really in danger. So, we are really working on that. It's really important to share this information, because I know that not everyone is aware of what the museum has. So, sharing information is really important to us. Thank you.
[01:06:45 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you. I know it's not easy, and connecting with the communities is often the best way to make it happen and create those bridges that are deeply necessary to make sure that you also address the cultural part of the language. It's not only a matter of translating, it's a matter of conveying, as I said earlier, what it really represents for the culture of the people. I have another question coming in. It's about how social media could help to encourage younger people to reinforce their Indigenous language retention. I'm pretty sure that it's not a bad idea when some people are leaving, more and more in the cities, they are a little bit far away and they want to reconnect.
So, [would] one of you would like to jump in and address that question? Go ahead, Terry.
[01:08:00 Terry Audla appears full screen.]
Terry Audla: Thank you. Now, I had mentioned early on in my introduction about how I had the privilege of seeing what they did in New Zealand in protecting the Māori language using these language nets. Basically, it was elders that were brought in. Every day, they would sit with the preschoolers and speak in the Māori language, which was rich in its own culture and its own legends and tales, and the actual creation of the Māori people. That instilled within these preschoolers that very strong foundation of keeping the Māori language strong.
I found that for Inuktut, there is now an Inuktut-based publishing company, and the product that's coming out of the publishing company, just the amount of material, a lot of what I grew up with, [Indigenous language], all of that type of legend that I grew up with. The warnings that I received from my mom about how you should stay away from open water and cracks in the ice. So rich in in the understanding of the rights and wrongs, or the consequences of bad behaviour, or careless behavior. It just put Hans Christian Andersen to shame.
And it's something that I think would only enrich our nation is to have all of that, to bring it forward and to have it on social media sites and to have it readily available so that our young people can see and understand these origin tales and these legends and how the world was created and how people were created. In my opinion, it only enriches the true fabric of our nation.
[01:10:26 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Terry. Mandy, over to you.
[01:10:35 Mandy Bayha appears full screen.]
Mandy Bayha: I just want to preface this by saying, where I come from in the Arctic, not as high Arctic as Terry, but nonetheless, it's one of the harshest climates in the world.
And what I've come to learn from the stories, and the elders, and the knowledge keepers, is that how we didn't just survive the harshness of our environment, but we were thriving, living our best lives. And I'm like, well, how is that possible? Because we're masters of adaptation. We adapt really well and fast to unpredictable circumstances a lot of times. I think that inherently who we are and how we've come to be here is really a great answer, insight for social media content.
Well, we're not really living in the harshness of yesteryear, but nonetheless, especially the younger people in my generation, are living a very different life than our grandfathers and great grandfathers were. But nonetheless, we're still Dene, we're still here. And what we were able to do always, in every other part of our history, was look around us and take what we have and adapt it, whether that was ours or something that was introduced. Whatever was happening around us, we rolled with that. We use them as tools to continue to carry on these important, vital parts of who we are.
I think social media is amazing. Yes, yes, there's technology. There's all of these things that we can be creative with now to start to revitalize language in these platforms. I love to see people starting to write on Facebook, or different things, and they're trying to write in the language. I think one of the big things to be mindful of, especially in those spaces, is that in what's true for a language generally, is that we have to be kind to each other.
It's a really vulnerable thing to be learning your language for the first time, not being able to speak it well. You have this insecurity from what I hear from new speakers. For me, personally, it really bothers me because that's what prevents our young people from trying to speak is that they're afraid, they're shy, they feel vulnerable. The rest of us really need to be kind and encouraging and supportive, not like, you spelled that wrong, you said that wrong. There are ways that we can lovingly bring people into connecting to their language because it's a very vulnerable spiritual experience, rooted deeply in healing.
Really, the only path forward is kindness. But yes, for sure, I think how we've come to be who we are is how successful we were at adapting. So, I'm really all for it. I think there's exciting new things that we can be learning in the process of creating content. You see that so nowadays. It's such a popular thing to see people learning their language, or passing it on in those ways. It's very empowering.
As a mother, I am extremely happy that my children are growing up in an era where they can see themselves through influencers, through space – you could see the language that's written. It's not something that's hidden anymore. It's not something that you have to hide of yourself anymore. I'm really grateful that they're going to a different experience than I did, or that my mother did, or my grandparents did. I think, yes, the more that we have these conversations and platforms to share, I think it's amazing. Mahsi.
[01:14:12 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you, Mandy. Tasha, would you like to add something?
[01:14:25 Tasha Cloutier appears full screen.]
Tasha Cloutier: Yes. Last year, I attended a language conference of the Métis Nation. There were quite a number of presenters that came from the different governing groups. There are many dialects of Michif, and so there were speakers of all the dialects there. It was a super excellent conference.
There was a fellow that was there. His name is Samson LaMontagne. Samson has an Instagram page. And, I don't know, I think he made just a couple of videos. He told his story, and I made a few videos speaking Michif and just trying to make it fun. And it took off. He was just the most inspiring person, so I encourage you to look him up. He's a great social media influencer for Michif Revitalization. I just got such a kick out of him.
He was a teacher, and I don't know, he must have just thought that would be how he would reach his students. But I've been following him since, and he's just great fun to watch.
I think there's a lot of social media influencers out there who are bringing the language back and just trying to encourage more young people, people like even me, because I am on social media, to learn different phrases.
I'll add, I remember recently, I only have one speaker in my family, it's my uncle Mike. I wrote to him and I'm like – I won't tell you why. Well, I will tell you why. I was thinking, maybe I'll get a tattoo. I've never had a tattoo before. I was like, I'd like it to be in Wolastoqey. I'm trying to think of words.
I text him and I'm like, Uncle, can you tell me how to say resilient in Wolastoqey? He sends me recordings, and he comes back with a little recording of himself saying resilient. But, like Mandy said, it was a whole sentence. It was like, <she smiles and mumbles some unintelligible words>. I still have the recording on my phone. I looked for it a few minutes ago.
And I said, Uncle, no, I need one word. He's like, Tasha, that's not how our language works, because what he was doing was describing, really describing to a very distinct nature what it means to be resilient. I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was like someone who is able to withstand the storm. It was very, very specific and very much not one word.
Our languages are beautiful in that they're not, like Mandy was saying this earlier, and it really resonated with me, they're not literal, I guess, is this the way I wanted to put it. It takes a lot of beautiful descriptions just to say something that seems simple in English, but it's not in our languages. I wanted to share that story, that I've had that opportunity.
But going back to the point, check out Samson LaMontagne and other influencers to just see how they are bringing the language back and bringing people along the ride using technology. So, thank you.
[01:17:27 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you. And just to continue on that, how things translate in other languages.
[01:17:34 Josianne Paul appears full screen.]
Josianne Paul: You mentioned to me offline that you would like to provide a little bit more information, Terry, about how Geographic Information System translates in Inuktut. Would you like to continue on that?
[01:17:54 Terry Audla appears full screen. Text on screen: Terry Audla, Canada School of Public Service / Terry Audla, École de la fonction publique du Canada.]
Terry Audla: Yes, and I think it's a perfect segue from what Tasha was saying. And that was that one phrase in English, in the technical sense, that really tripped me up when I was reporting to the Unilingual Inuktut Board and having that privilege of going to every community and speaking with all the local lands and resource committees about all the concepts and what was going on with respect to Inuit on lands and just trying to understand the terminology and how things are said when it comes to all these technical terms that relates to land management.
So, when I was meeting with one of these committees, they were all huddled around the maps of their area, of what they were familiar with. Each and every time, one of the elders would have put a finger to the map. As soon as that elder put a finger to the map, you could tell they were no longer in that room. They were experiencing and reliving where they had grown up, where there was plentiful wildlife, where there were areas that they felt sacred.
It dawned on me at that point, that's what I want to capture in digital form. That's a geographic information system. Then when I explained that concept to them, it was like an eye-opening experience in the sense that the languages in different cultures it's so important to describe the actual world that they live in. And that it's not, as Tasha said, literal in the sense, but it's actually a description of your current situation on this planet. When I came back with the geographic information system terminology in Inuktitut, that was what really helped me do my job and assist the Inuit in their management of those lands.
I just thought I'd share that, and I thank you, Tasha, for reminding me of that.
[01:20:19 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Tasha, would you like to add something?
Tasha Cloutier: No, not at all. That's perfect.
Josianne Paul: Sorry. [inaudible].
Tasha Cloutier: Can't improve on perfection. That was great.
Josianne Paul: Perfect. I just wanted to make sure that I give all of you the opportunity to have what you would like to say.
In closing, I would like to ask each of you if you can tell me, in a few seconds, what is the biggest lesson learned that you have had working in this space of preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages? So maybe I would start with you, Gaëlle.
So, Gaëlle, can you give me your biggest lesson learned, quickly, in this regard?
[01:21:04 Gaëlle Mollen appears full screen. Text on screen: Gaëlle Mollen, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum / Gaëlle Mollen, Musée canadien de l'histoire et Musée canadien de la guerre.]
Gaëlle Mollen: Yes. Well, actually, I'm going to speak personally. Basically, I already mentioned that the Innu language is my mother tongue. Really, the biggest lesson I've learned, and all of this from working with languages, is to speak it constantly, to pass it on, and to really take time for the language itself. Living in the Gatineau-Ottawa region, I am very far from the Côte-Nord. So, there aren't really many speakers of my mother tongue here in Gatineau. So, I speak with my sister, who lives here with my mother, every day in Innu, and I also pass the language on to my daughter. So really, transmission is something that we must prioritize at home, because the transmission of a language begins at home and then continues at school.
But that's what it's about, resisting despite the fact that French and English are truly the dominant languages. I really try every day to speak my language as much as possible.
[01:22:03 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: So, leave it and keep it alive. Even if it's only at the family level, it's important not to give up. Basically, it's what I understand from what you said.
Somebody else would like to share a lesson learned? Mandy.
[01:22:25 Mandy Bayha appears full screen. Text on screen: Mandy Bayha, Western Arctic Field Unit, Parks Canada / Mandy Bayha, Unité de gestion de l'Arctique de l'Ouest, Agence Parcs Canada.]
Mandy Bayha: I'm not sure that it's really a lesson learned as opposed to maybe my first big realization. Because I grew up as a first language speaker, I didn't really understand that I was in different worldviews. When I was speaking in my language the way I grew up, and then I learned English, I didn't understand that there was a difference until when I became a mother for the first time.
I was pregnant with my first son, and my grandfather was older at that point, and I knew that he probably wasn't going to be able to be around to see my little boy growing into a man. So, I sat with him. I came home for a while because I wasn't living here at the time. I came home and I sat with him for a solid week. Every day, I recorded him. I'm like, okay, grandpa, you're not going to be here when my boy is older, so what words of wisdom, what knowledge do you want to give him so that I can show this to him when he gets older? And for a whole week, we did this. We just talked. And so, I was like, I'm going to write a book about my grandpa's life based on these stories that I'm collecting from him.
But then I couldn't. I was like, how come? I realized that even the education system and the way that it conditions you to think about things in a linear form, I realized that my grandfather, when he's talking to me, has a completely [different] understanding of time. It's all about relationships. I was like, Oh, my gosh. I'm thinking like, oh, he was born in 19 whatever, and then going through chronologically.
No. I was sitting and listening to... I was just really visiting and being present at the time, but when I went back after he passed away, the listening to the stories, that was the biggest realization. I had no idea that I was also thinking in a different worldview when I was speaking my language or when I was speaking in English. I look for that all the time as indicators of many things.
And so, I think that as people are approaching learning their language, be really gentle with yourself because we don't have... The context in which we socialize into our language is also threatened. It's not easy to just pick up a language when there's an entire worldview and culture and way of thinking and knowing and being involved in that language. So, be gentle with yourself and also see it as a way of connecting to who you are, your history, your family. And thanks. Mahsi.
[01:24:47 Split screen: Josianne Paul and panelists appear in video chat panels.]
Josianne Paul: Thank you. Sorry, I had trouble to unmute. It had to happen at least once during that event.
So, I think that it concludes today's event. Thank you so much for sharing with us your work experience, but also showing us how it's linked to your personal and lived experience.
[01:25:12 Josianne Paul appears full screen. Text on screen: Josianne Paul, Canada School of Public Service / École de la fonction publique du Canada.]
Josianne Paul: How languages are living things. Languages are living things that we must work with to preserve, revitalize, and see grow.
[01:04:11 Text on screen: Closing Remarks: Preserving and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Canada / Conclusion: Préserver et revitaliser les langues autochones au Canada.]
Josianne Paul: If we want to see them grow and thrive, we need to take care of languages as much as we take care of our culture and ourselves. We will have a lot to bring back to reflect on it. I see all of you on the screen, and I see that just like me today, it was a conversation that leads to deeper reflection after we are taking back what you have shared with us today. I'm deeply grateful to have had a chance to discuss with all of you today.
On behalf of the Canada School, I would like to thank all of you again, as well as all of you across the country that took the time to receive that knowledge that was passed on to us today and being part of the discussion. I hope you enjoyed the event as much as I enjoyed moderating it today, and that you leave feeling inspired just like me. So, the School still has other events and courses to offer. I encourage you to visit our website for more information.
I encourage you to visit our website to keep up to date with what the School has to offer.
And once again, Once again, thank you. Merci. Miigwech. Have an excellent day. All of you. Thank you. Bye.
[01:26:52 The CSPS animated logo appears onscreen.]
[01:26:58 The Government of Canada wordmark appears.]
