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Stories – Language

Languages are native to a particular region, and there are more than 70 Indigenous languages across what is now called Canada and some are on the verge of extinction. However, many people have lost their traditional language due to the residential school system which punished people for speaking their languages and other intergenerational impacts and government policies. Indigenous languages are important as they tell stories, protocols, laws, family histories, and ways of knowing and worldviews that cannot otherwise be translated. The extensive number of stories in this category focus on language acquisition, revitalization, restoration, and resurgence and include language classes, immersion, workshops, curriculum development, and use a variety of techniques including total physical response, Native American Hand Signs, ACTFL, reading, writing, speaking, documentation, self-study, and music. Language teachers emphasize the need for language fluency as well as academic understandings of language etymology for a language to evolve, and encourage students to use the language in the real world as well as during their classes in order to become language speakers. Stories in this category include First Nations, Metis, Inuit languages. Languages may include: Algonquin, Cree, Dënesutine, English, French, Innu, Inuktitut, Maliseet, Michif, North Slavey, Oji-Cree, Ojibway, and/or Saulteaux.