Evidence of meeting #47 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was nunavut.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:15 p.m.
Director, Indigenous Education and Affairs, Capilano University, As an Individual
Healing is critical. In doing the national work, something we heard everywhere was that there must be funds for creating spaces for people to heal and considerations for “silent speakers”. These are people who have the language innately within them from growing up around it but who, because of the atrocities you're speaking about, are afraid to speak it. They are too traumatized to speak it. It's about creating space for that language to come through in a healthy way again.
Health is key to all of this. There are so many factors, and you've identified a very important one.
5:15 p.m.
BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development, Vancouver Island University, As an Individual
What you just said was very powerful, and I want to acknowledge that the death of language is a soul wound that we have in every indigenous community from not being able to speak our languages. A transformation and healing happen when we are able to speak them fluently and are able to hold them.
I just recently learned Hul'q'umi'num'. I have been taking it with Thiyaas, Florence James, and I started to cry because there was this feeling that I felt, like a loss, and that grief and that shame. I didn't realize that, as you said, the anger was sitting in me for so long, and once I was to speak it on my own territory, there was this wave of opening for me. She said, “Your heart's opening more and you're healing because you're able to speak and connect to the language.”
I'm able to gather medicine and know how to talk to the plants and the trees properly, so healing is a huge piece to all of our families and our children and every community. I just want to thank you for being able to speak to the importance of language and how it can transform and heal in really deep ways.
5:15 p.m.
Associate Professor and Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Michif/Métis Education, University of Regina, As an Individual
The other panellists have said a lot of things that I can definitely echo.
We look back at the hurt of not being allowed to speak our language, but also when I think of members within my family, I know they felt shame and ridicule when they did speak their language. Many Michif speakers were ridiculed and made fun of because that was the only language they came with, and they didn't speak English or French within the schools. Now they are able to speak their language out in public and they feel pride in that, and then they are willing to come and work with the younger people and the adult learners who want to learn the language and join in and share that pride. It definitely heals those wounds that have deeply scarred our communities.
Thank you.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marc Garneau
Thank you, Ms. Idlout.
Colleagues, we have 10 minutes. We could do another quick round if people wish, and I am going to assume they do. I'll give it to others if they wish to use it.
Would you like to avail yourself, Mr. Schmale, or shall I go straight to Mr. Battiste?
Okay, I will go to Mr. Battiste. If you change your mind before the end, please....
Go ahead, Mr. Battiste.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
My question is around incentives for indigenous language speakers. We often talk about the need for us to have educational programs and immersion and adult immersion. I feel as though we're putting too much of a burden on educators without any incentive.
How do I tell my teenage son, who went to Mi'kmaq immersion, that he should continue speaking the language? What does that open up for him in opportunities?
I know that if you speak the French language in Ottawa, that's obviously a benefit for jobs and for all of these different things. What incentives are out there for our youth to actually continue to speak their language?
Ms. Huron, you can start.
5:20 p.m.
Director, Indigenous Education and Affairs, Capilano University, As an Individual
This goes into that idea of creating a language economy, and we need to work on that, because right now it's challenging. Single moms are being told that they have to learn their language alongside their children and speak it alongside just existing, and it's such an impossible ask for so many people. There's also that cultural guilt if you're not learning your language. We can't be driven by guilt; we have to be driven by celebration.
Yes, it was a tragedy that came up in this past year to see that indigenous languages weren't being treated like minority languages with respect to language bonuses in government. That's an easy first step for government to take.
Within any workplace, having that should be seen as something that needs to be funded. Even within education placements and so on, it needs to be seen as something that people are striving towards. We need to create this economy around our languages, much like what has been created for minority languages in this country.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Ms. Alphonse, do you want to comment on what incentives we could create?
5:20 p.m.
BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development, Vancouver Island University, As an Individual
I'd like to change the mindset of incentives, because while I think having the languages is something that is a celebration, of course, it needs to be immersed in community.
When we think about climate change and how we'll have lots of other communities coming to Canada at some point, we're going to have to know more languages. The incentive to start to have this real strength through speaking languages and holding onto indigenous languages is connection to our land.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Do you think that a 13-year-old on reserve would understand his place in the overall world's culture, and that he would see that same incentive created?
5:20 p.m.
BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development, Vancouver Island University, As an Individual
Yes.
5:20 p.m.
Associate Professor and Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Michif/Métis Education, University of Regina, As an Individual
Yes.
To build on Danielle's comment in terms of the connection to the land, our youth are already incentivized by land-based education. They enjoy going out onto the land and learning about traditional knowledge. Right there, there's an opportunity when we start doing things with language and on the land. Many communities are already doing this because the youth are interested in getting out onto the land and learning.
We have to tie into those practices that our youth are already interested in that celebrate our culture and knowledge, and we have to tie into changing the mindsets, similar to what Danielle said.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
5:20 p.m.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
I would like to continue talking about barriers to research.
Many witnesses have told us about the administrative difficulties and complexity of the paperwork involved in getting a grant or funding, as well as the wait times following project submission to the department.
Have you experienced that?
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marc Garneau
We can start with Ms. Brice, if you want to comment on that, and then Ms. Alphonse and Ms. Huron.
5:20 p.m.
Associate Professor and Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Michif/Métis Education, University of Regina, As an Individual
Yes. As an academic, I have had the experience in terms of the time that it takes to apply for research grants. Of course, there's the waiting. I have been supported in applying for grants by my institution. These same supports do not exist at the community level. Our communities do not have the same infrastructures that are set up at universities in the way that I'm supported as a scholar to submit grant applications.
There are things that need to be in place that are supportive and help our communities to get over these obstacles around, as you say, the administrative side, in terms of the paperwork, especially in communities where their first language is not English or French, and that's what the application requires. There are accommodations that need to be made.
5:25 p.m.
BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development, Vancouver Island University, As an Individual
I'm going to agree with Ms. Brice. Yes, that's a true fact. There needs to be a weight of funding that can support communities within the research.
Also, in thinking about elders, we have to be really careful if we're going to be doing more research in language with elders. We have to be careful about how much we're utilizing each of those elders within those language groups. We can overuse elders as well, and we have to be very careful and protective of those people.
5:25 p.m.
Director, Indigenous Education and Affairs, Capilano University, As an Individual
I would echo what my two colleagues have said. I'm also looking at great organizations like the First Peoples' Cultural Council. They are doing regional work and going out into the community to support the filling out of applications. Oftentimes, if you're a single teacher in your community, it's hard to put your hand up for that help or know where those pathways are. Just communicating where those pathways are is one of those things. It's such a hard thing to get the word out in the right ways that people will hear it and know how to do it. It's a challenge.