Revitalizing Indigenous languages, fostering self-governance, overcoming the Indian Act: A case study of Lil’wat Nation
Presenter(s)
Affiliation
Topic
Ethnography and various narratives about language education, ethno-education
Type
Papers
Abstract
British Columbia is the home of some of the smallest and most endangered Indigenous languages in Canada while having the greatest diversity, as twenty-seven out of eighty-six Indigenous languages can be found in the province (UNESCO, 2010, p. 115). According to the 2021 census, around 8% of the First Nations living in British Columbia in 2021 (180,085) could speak an Indigenous language fluently enough to have a conversation. Interestingly, more than half of First Nations people (58%) able to speak an Indigenous language learned it as a second language later in life.
Among the BC endangered languages, there is the ucwalmícwts (the language of the people), a Salishan language spoken by the Lower Lillooet people (also known as Lil’wat people) in Southwestern British Columbia. Ucwalmícwts is one of the variations of the Lillooet language (the other being St̓át̓imcets) spoken by less than 600 people and classified as severely endangered. Ucwalmícwts counts less than 50 fluent speakers, but many community members are familiar with songs, phrases or words, although they cannot speak the language. According to the Endangered Languages Project website, there are 1359 Lillooet semi-fluent speakers, although speaker numbers have for a long time been decreasing. However, this trend is now changing.
This research article aims to explore the relationship between revitalizing ucwalmícwts and the well-being of Lil’wat Nation members. By highlighting best practices and revitalization efforts developed by the Nation to bring ucwalmícwts back; this paper also attempts to shed light on literacy programs and conversational projects that have been developed or are ongoing with the aim to revitalize the language.
The study is significant in light of the Lil’wat Nation Strategic Plan for 2024-2030, where language is listed, together with culture and values, as a key aspect that can lead Lil’wat people to kamúcwkalha.
