This is the story of the legendary Mohawk ironworkers, and of new approaches to language instruction for both adults and children within the contemporary community of Kahnawake.
This episode will trace the history of the very successful Cree Language Immersion Program, developed and implemented in schools in the Cree communities of Northern Quebec.
George and Maggie Wabanonick take a group of teens to the woods to initiate them in their traditional culture and language. In the classroom, the kids and teachers struggle with their Algonquin lessons, while the pop group Anishnabe give the language new life.
At a language conference in Puvirnituq, we witness efforts to keep Inuktitut alive and up-to-date, largely through the knowledge and commitment of elders.
Karin Awashish, a young radio journalist working at SOCAM, makes a trip to her home community to tape interviews and legends told by elders in Attikamekw, as part of the network's language initiative.
This episode focuses on Isadore Toulouse's weekly trajectory to four different urban-based schools where we witness first-hand, and with raw immediacy, his efforts to pass on his own enthusiasm and passion for the Ojibwe language.
In this episode, we enter the fascinating and complex world of a language considered by some to be unique in the world - Michif - the language of the Métis of Canada and the US. We meet some of the movers and shakers working politically and through the education system to have Michif recognized as the official language of the Métis, as well as those whose passion and dedication are evidenced at the grass-roots level.
This episode follows the work of a virtually self-taught, highly motivated language teacher. Stella Ketchemonia has devoted her life to teaching the Saulteaux language. She is now a member of the dynamic staff of the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College.
This episode looks at two projects: a pilot to have Mi'kmaw adopted as an official second language in high school curriculum and Mi'kmaw as the language of instruction for a university level science program.
The Huron language today survives primarily in hymns, religious texts, dictionaries and turn-of-the-century wax recordings - it is, to all extents and purposes, an extinct language. This episode looks at the historical roots of the language’s demise, present-day efforts to rekindle it in spoken form, and the cultural significance and implications of language as a ceremonial artifact.
Florent Vollant is a dynamic Innu singer-songwriter, one-half of the internationally acclaimed Native pop duo KASHTIN. In Montreal and his home community of Maliotenam, we follow Florent on his musical campaign to inspire Innu youth with the passion and concern he feels for his language.
In this episode, we look at the historical development and contemporary applications of syllabic writing systems among Native languages in Canada. Though conceived by missionaries and used by them to aid in bringing Christianity to the North, syllabics went on to play an important part in the spread of literacy through aboriginal communities and continue to evolve in this direction today.
This episode tells the story of Dave Elliott, a Saanich fisherman who almost single-handedly resurrected the dying language of his people - Sencofen - by creating an alphabet system, recording the elders and developing a language curriculum for local schools. Though Dave Elliott passed away in 1985, his remarkable legacy lives on in the efforts of his son John and daughter Linda, teachers and language activists who are pioneering innovative computer programs and materials for teaching the Sencofen language.
The focus of this episode looks at the young people of both Kanehsata:ke and Kahnawake, two Mohawk communities located in Quebec. These communities have been instrumental in providing Mohawk immersion programs within their communities for a number of years. Students who attended these schools currently or in the past are the focus of this episode. We look at how the Mohawk language, Kanien'kéha plays in the life of these young people today.
This episode examines the efforts and the importance of community involvement in maintaining and reviving culture and language. Imelda Perley a teacher and Maliseet speaker has committed much of her time and knowledge to the people of St. Mary's, Kingclear and Tobique N.B.
According to ancient Anishnabe legend, the Great Spirit wished for an Island retreat, so he created Manitou Minissing, or Island of the Spirits. Today it's known as Manitoulin Island. This is a sacred place where by tradition, the greatest leaders and warriors, medicine men and women, were buried.
This episode deals with the how the Naskapi Development Corporation has spearheaded the promotion of the Naskapi language, history and culture. They are currently involved with projects such as computerization of the Naskapi Lexicon and a Naskapi language translation of the Bible.
This episode is about the Gwitchin people of Old Crow, Yukon and their plight to save their culture and language through their efforts to protect the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which is vital to the Gwitchin way of life. Every year 75 or more members of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation also known as the 'Caribou People' travel from Old Crow, Yukon to Porcupine River where they wait for the herd of caribou.
This episode will examine how effectively a full language immersion program can save a dying language. We will show how a 'Nursery Program' grew to become a high school. We will also take a look at two influential people who have worked hard studying, writing and teaching the language, and about their own struggles trying to press the importance of language to their own children.
Originally occupying a region in today’s Minnesota were the Dakota, who were also called the Santee Sioux, They grew into three main groups: The Lakota, the Nakota and the Dakota whose languages are the same but with a different dialect. The Dakota are the largest of the three and are considered the mother group.
This episode will look at how residential schools played a role in the destruction of Aboriginal languages in Canada. It will focus on three former residential school students who are reclaiming and using aboriginal languages as a healing component when dealing with their own personal experiences and in helping others overcome the legacy of the residential schools.
In this episode we will examine the efforts of one community to revive their language and culture. One, an immersion centre with a "hands-on, healing-first" philosophy. The other, an unlicensed radio station which focuses on the Oneida language and Native American music rather than mainstream top 40.
Indigenous/Native Studies is a rapidly growing field and it is hoped that all communities, native and non-native, could benefit from their contributions and research. In this episode we talk to First Nation scholars about how they apply Aboriginal languages in their fields of study through research and curriculum development.
This episode will focus on the words of the elders and what they can teach to the younger generation about their language and culture. The Kainai Board of Education in Standoff, Blood Reserve, Alberta uses stories from the elders in their school curriculum.
We look at the important role that the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre has played in strengthening cultural awareness and in establishing several educational institutions in Saskatchewan. We also visit the Tsi Ronteriwanonhnha language centre in Kanestake, Quebec whose doors remain open in the face of serious funding cutbacks.
This episode examines how tradition is sustained orally and through personal contact. The Dane-Zaa people believe that story telling is more than just entertainment, it is important information that is being communicated from one person to another and from one generation to another. We also take a look at the process of relating old language by way of recordings and multi-media.
Rapid Lake, an Algonquin community where most people still speak Anishnabe, is divided between the traditionalists and the federally appointed band council. In the neighbouring community of Kiticiaskik, which has always refused reserve status, a young videographer uses his skills to revive culture and language.
Listuguj, Quebec is a Mi'gmaq community that lost touch with its language and values as it gained economic prosperity. The Listuguj Education Directorate wants to reintroduce the language into all aspects of community life. They're taking advantage of two powerful language tools. One important tool is a unique picture based teaching method that's made language learning as fun as being a child again. But the most important language resource is still the support of dedicated elders like John Isaac.
The Abenaki language has managed to survive the past several generations with only one speaker like Cécile Wawanolett or Monique Nolett-Ille teaching a handful of students in Odanak or the eastern United States. Today their students Philippe Charland and Brent Reader maintain the thin lifeline to this endangered language.
Can the 'wired teepee' help save the Ktunaxa language in the Kootenays? The Ktunaxa people are going to find out thanks to a number of technology initiatives taking place in their community. From the First Voices project to the seven million dollar fiber optics network, to a young woman recording her great aunt for the virtual language curriculum and kids listening on their iPods in the school yard, the community is doing everything it can to preserve and share a language that only has twenty-four remaining speakers.
In the last two hundred years, Australia has suffered the largest and most rapid loss of languages known to history. In Nambucca Heads, the Guymbaynggirr people work to revive a near extinct language, while in Alice Springs vibrant languages learned at home are struggling to survive government policies and cultural prejudices.
The Chitimacha Nation of Charenton, Louisiana partners with Rosetta Stone, a language learning software company, to create teaching aids for a language that has no fluent speakers. Piecing together the language from old, wax cylinder recordings, this 1,000 member strong community is relying on its determination and thriving cultural identity to awaken the Chitimacha language from its long slumber.
The Mayan people and their languages have survived and even thrived despite brutal conquest, book burnings and civil war in Guatemala. Today's Mayans fight for the right to have education and government services in their own language, in one of the few countries where the majority of the population is indigenous to the land.
The reindeer herding culture and language of Norway’s Sami people still thrives in the far north despite past government policies of assimilation. From a Sami language theatre company and a children’s radio program to a band taking a contemporary twist on the Sami musical tradition of yoiking, today’s Sami are incorporating their culture and language into their daily lives.
The once banned Hawaiian language is now the only indigenous language officially recognized by any state in the United States. This recognition paved the way for a complete education in the Hawaiian language. From early childhood education to post-graduate studies, Hawaiians may choose to complete their full education in the Hawaiian language.
Traditional storytelling finds a new voice on the airwaves thanks to indigenous broadcasters in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Bilingual young directors, producers and presenters who speak their languages are working and thriving in all three countries that have their own indigenous broadcasting systems.
Bolivia’s Aymara youth are showing new pride in their culture by creating and singing songs in their own language. From the country’s first Aymara president, Evo Morles, to it’s first Aymara Chancellor, the voice of the Aymara people is being heard around the country.
In the early days of talkies, film was used to capture the culture and languages of indigenous peoples who were thought to be on the brink of extinction. Not anymore. Today indigenous filmmakers, actors and directors, are using the medium to tell their own stories, in their own way, in their own languages.
Language nests, an immersive program for babies and young children started in the 1980s have renewed the Maori people's pride in their history, language, and culture. Key to the program’s success is the involvement of the family and most importantly the grandparents.
