"Children, youth and adults who speak and understand more than one language have 'cognitive advantages' (Ofelia, 2011) such that their brains show superior development later in life. In the case of First Nations people, they will gain a worldview that is difficult if not impossible to attain fully without knowing your language. Early First Nations political and language activists expressed this in 1972 (NIB)."

Onowa McIvor

Reviving your language through education – BC First Nations Language Education Planning Workbook

Published - 2015

Through our site, we aid in the effort to revitalize language in three crucial areas.

Preserving

We collect recordings of Indigenous speakers on traditional medium like Hi-8, reel-to-reel, video and audio cassette, and other older formats, and we then digitize those recordings, preserving those voices that would otherwise be lost due to time and decay. If you or someone you know has older recordings that they think should be preserved and added to our site, please contact us and let us know.

Learning

We provide a way for language learners to begin or continue their path to rekindling their own Indigenous language through live-chats with our fluent language Mentors. Groups or individuals can schedule their learning time on our site and then have real-time conversational tutorials with a Mentor, allowing them to see and hear their language spoken along with real life examples built into each lesson, bringing a style of teaching much closer to their own traditions.

Sharing

We want you to share your voice as well. Your stories, your friend’s stories, your families—whatever you are willing to share with us, you can add it to the Circle of Indigenous Languages. You can either upload a recording from your phone, from a camera or audio recorder, or your computer, or you can make a recording directly on the site with our recording feature. It can be anything you wish—a family memory; a tradition from your community; or your own personal story. All that matters is that it is sincere and it’s told in your own Indigenous language. Our team will moderate and curate these files, and then add them to the site. There are so many voices out there that could be forgotten or lost—that’s why it’s so important to share while we still can.