'Waking Up Ojibwe': Strategy aims to revitalize language in northwestern Ontario

A seven-year strategy being officially launched in Thunder Bay, Ont. on Wednesday aims to preserve Anishnaabe culture in northwestern Ontario, by revitalizing traditional language.

Waking Up OjibweAnishinaabemodaa, is a project being developed by the Seven Generations Education Institute, the Rainy River District School Board and the organization Say It First, along with 10 Rainy River First Nations.

Its purpose is to encourage and helppeople of all ages in the Rainy River District to learn the language, as well as to develop future languageteachers.

While traditional language instruction has been provided in district schools for years, finding qualified instructors has become "harder and harder," said Heather Campbell, the director of education for the Rainy River District School Board.

Meanwhile, time is of the essence when it comes to preserving the language.

"We have knowledge-keepers and elders that are passing on, unfortunately, and with them goes knowledge and the language, and so there's such a great urgency in the strategy to return the language to the communities, and to build on that language."

In order to do that, the partner organizations aredeveloping programs to bring the language not just into daycares and classrooms, but also into family homes, in the hopes of building a new generation of speakers.

Among the resources being created are language kits, including translated books for children, that can be used at home, where parents can learn alongside children. Digital translation tools are also being developed, she said. In addition, they're trying to highlight how knowing the language could be an asset in a wide-range of careers, including teaching, to encourage people to learn.

Adult education is also part of the strategy, explained Brent Tookenay, the CEO of the Seven Generations Education Institute, adding that the institute is already running a classroom program that is yielding results.

"There are members from each of our 10 First Nations, and they range in age anywhere from 20 to 50 years old," he said. "After year one, they were able to hold conversations for 15 minutes strictly in the language, and that's only after one year, and this is a three-year pilot."

Looking down the road, Tookenay said he hopes the project will have a huge impact on First Nations communities in the region.

"I think probably the most important thing is that the communities will have more people speaking the language," he said."Itallows our First Nations to continue in their culture, their ceremonies, everything that our First Nations do [in] our communities is based around the language."