As Indigenous language classes move online, students discover new ways to connect with elders

Learning a language over the internet may not sound ideal.

But for some students in North Island College's (NIC) Indigenous language program,the change hasled to a unique, virtual relationship between them and local Indigenous elders.

The designated "elder-in-residence" works withclassinstructors byanswering student questions, offering context behind certain words and aiding with pronunciation.

"We could send thema quick message asking what a word was, and they would respond instantly,"said student Jeannine Lindsay in a press release from the college.

Lindsaybegan learningKwak'wala, thetraditional languageof theKwakwakawakw people, this summerafter the Vancouver Island college moved most classes online due to COVID-19.

From on land to online

This fall, students at NICwill continue to learnKwak'wala from a distance, which is not how the course was designed.

"It's going to be challenging," said Sara Child, NIC'saboriginal education facilitator and the lead for language revitalization.

The program was intended to be land-based, Child told CBC's All Points West listeners Tuesday. But students canno longerconnect with elders in person, meaning all communication has to be done over the computer.

For instance, explained Child, if a student wants to learn about the traditional language associated with smoking fish, they might make a short video of the curingprocess and then share it with the elder, who can then explain the correctlanguage that accompaniesthe act, as well as its significance.

Child said the school designed its Indigenous language program as a "revitalization measure" a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to "preserve, revitalize and strengthen" Aboriginal languages and cultures in Canada.

"Our languages are dangling by a slender thread," said Child.

North Island College offers students the opportunity tolearn bothKwak'walaandNuu-chah-nulth, the ancestral language of the Nuu-chah-nulth or Nootka people, whose traditional territory lies on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in and around Tahsis.

The traditional territory of theKwakwakawakw extends from the northern reaches of Vancouver Island to the adjacent mainland coast,along the Queen Charlotte Strait.

According to the 2016 census, 450people in Canada can speak Kwak'wala, also known asKwakiutl,while 380respondents said they could speakNuu-chah-nulth.

And many of those who are fluent are elderly, saidChild. That's whythe school developed the language program with younger people in mind.

Improved accessibility

Rory Annett, aNIC student who lives on Quadra Island, said transitioning to a distance learning model made the class more accessible to folks throughout the island.

"The people who are learning it are from Nanaimo, Victoria, Quadra Island, and Port Hardy, and are all able to join in on the same course and create a virtual community," he said in the college's media release. "If everyone had to attend physically, that just wouldn't be possible."

NIC has four campuses located in Courtenay, Campbell River, Port Alberni and Port Hardy. While many classes will be administered solely online, some NIC courses will feature a mix of digital and campus components.

Indigenous or otherwise, Childencourages everyone to try learningKwak'wala.

"Wewant to encourage the language to be heard outside of our small communities because we know that any one individual community can't solely revitalize the language on their own," she said.

"We have to work together."