indigenous education & department of linguistics ... · creating a user-friendly website for...

SharingSimAlgyax:Creatingauser-friendlywebsiteforsharinglanguageresources

ProjectsubmittedinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsfortheMastersofEducationPrograminIndigenousLanguageRevitalization

By

Cheyenne(Morgan)Gwa’amuuk

MastersofEducation,IndigenousLanguageRevitalizationIndigenousEducation&DepartmentofLinguistics

UniversityofVictoria

January2017

Supervisor:Dr.OnowaMcIvorCommitteemember:TrishRosborough

CheyenneGwa’amuuk-MILRFinalProject

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TableofContentsIntroduction................................................................................................................................................................3GitxsanNation&Territory..............................................................................................................................4SimAlgyaxand/orGitxsanimx......................................................................................................................5Languagestatus....................................................................................................................................................5

Background.................................................................................................................................................................9IssuesGitxsanlanguagelearner’sface.........................................................................................................11Projectdesign..........................................................................................................................................................14Rationale...............................................................................................................................................................14Targetaudience.................................................................................................................................................14Projectdescription...........................................................................................................................................15Projectprocess...................................................................................................................................................17

Projectaims..............................................................................................................................................................19Methods.....................................................................................................................................................................19Methodology............................................................................................................................................................20Resourcesgathered..............................................................................................................................................20Outcomes...................................................................................................................................................................24References................................................................................................................................................................25


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Introduction

Gilga’tsee’ixsistheGitxsannamethatIhold.Mynamewasgiventomebymygrandmother,

SimoogitWosimLaxha.BeforeIheldthisname,itbelongedtomyuncle,andbeforethatit

wasmygrandmothers.Idon’tknowhowoldthenameis.Gitxsannameshavebeenpassed

downsincetimeimmemorial(Smith,2004).WithintheNation,IbelongtotheGisgaastclan

andtheWilpofWosimLaxha.I’malsopartAnnishnabethroughmyfather.

Gitxsanpeopleareamatrilinealsociety.IamGitxsanthroughmymother,assheis

Gitxsanthroughhermother.Ihaveonesisterthroughmymomandanotherbrotherand

sisterthroughmydad.Ialsohaveabrother,sister,andmomthroughmybrothersCree

family.I’mreallyblessedtohavesomanyrelations.

MylegalnameisCheyenneGwa’amuuk,formerlyCheyenneMorgan.AtthetimeifI

wasnotsoimpatienttoreclaimourtraditionallastnameIprobablywouldhavespelledit

Gwa’amukw;Ithinkit’smoreaccurate.Mukwmeansthetimeoftheyearwhentheberries

areripe;Gwa’amukwmeansthatit’salwaysripe.Thiswasourfamilylastnamepriorto

Morgan.Intheearly1900’saBritishcaptainofasteamboatfromtheHudson’sBay

Companygavehislastnametomygreat-greatgrandfather.ItwasthenthatStephen

Gwa’amuukbecameStephenMorgan.That’sthehistorythatwastoldtomebymy

grandparents.Ithinkit’simportantformetoexplainthisbecauseIdon’tdoittoooftenand

Ithinkpeoplewonder.


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Mostmylifehasbeenspentlivingawayfromourtraditionalterritories.Beingborn

inVancouverandnotmovinghomeuntilIwas10,I’veoftenexperiencedadisconnectto

ourtraditionalterritories.ItwasthenthatIbegantorealizewhoIwasandwhereIcame

from.

SincelivingonourterritoriesIhavelivedinseveralplacesaroundtheprovinceand

haveendedupbackinVancouverforovertenyearsnow.Livingawayfromour

communitiescanoftenbealonesomeexperience,especiallyasalanguagelearner.Ioften

findmyselftalkingorthinkingtomyselfinSimAlgyax.Mydogisbilingual.Idon’tknow

manylanguagespeakerswhoIcanlearnfrom.Oftenapreviousrapportneedstobe

establishedbeforeIfeelcomfortablepullingthelanguageoutofanotherpersonformy

ownlearningpurposes.Fortunately,Ihadtheopportunitytoaccessalanguageteacher,

BarbaraSennott,whoiscommittedtosharingwhatsheknowsabouttheGitxsanlanguage

withothers,andhasbeenmyteacher(onandoff)forabout6yearsnow.

GitxsanNation&Territory

GitxsantraditionalterritoryislocatedinlandslightlyalongtheSkeenaRiver.Therehave

beenpopulationestimatesthatrangefrom7,000–13,000people(FPCC,2014;“The

Gitxsan,”2013).AccordingtotheGitxsanTreatySocietythereareapproximately13,000

membersoftheGitxsanNation.About70%themembershipresideonthetraditional

territory(“TheGitxsan,”2013).


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Thereare7mainvillagesincludingGitanmaax,Sikedak,Hagwilgyet,Ansbayaxw,

Gitsegyuxhla,GitwangakandGitwanyow.OtherGitxsanvillageslikeKisgaga’asoften

governthemselvessemi-independently.Also,thevillageofHagwilgyetisconsidered

sharedterritorywiththeWet’suwet’enpeople.

SimAlgyaxand/orGitxsanimx

TheGitxsanpeoplespeakSimAlgyax.ThelanguageisoftencalledGitxsanimxor

Gitxsanimax.SimAlgyaxisthelanguagefamilythatisspokenamongsttheFirstNation’s

peopleallupanddowntheSkeenaRiverandintheNassValley.Amongstthethreenations

thelanguagesarecalledGitxsanimx(orGitxsanimax),Sim’algyaxhlNisga’a,Sm’algyax

(Tsimshian),andSkiixs(SouthernTsimshian).WithintheGitxsanterritorytherearetwo

maindialects–GeenixandGyeets–easternandwesternorupriveranddownriver.

Ithinkthedifferencesindialectarebeautiful,althoughitcancomplicatethings

whenitcomestopassingonaminoritylanguage.It’scommonfortheretobediffering

beliefsaboutthesuperiority/inferiorityofotherdialects.Dialectscanbeexperiencedasa

symbolofidentityanddistinctness(Edwards,2009).

Languagestatus

AccordingtoFirstPeople’sCulturalCouncil(FPCC)2014‘StatusReportonB.C.First

Nation’sLanguages’,theGitxsanNationhasapopulationof7,595.Thesenumberswere

self-reportedby6oftheGitxsancommunitiesincluding,GitanmaaxBandCouncil,


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GitanyowBandCouncil,GitseguklaBandCouncil,GitwangakBandCouncil,GlenVowell

Band,andKispioxBandCouncil.HagwilgetreportedasaWet’suwet’enlanguagespeaking

community.Itisnoteworthythatthisnumberdiffersfromthe13,000Gitxsanmembers

reportedbyGitxsanTreatySocietyearlier(www.gitxsan.com).

FPCCfurtherreportsthereare350fluentGitxsanimxspeakers,486semi-speakers,

and638learnersofGitxsanimx;there’snoinformationabouttheremaining81%ofpeople

reportedas‘other’whoarepresumablynon-speakersorlearners.Thefollowingchart

summarizesthisdata.

Chart1:SimAlgyaxfluencyproportions(FPCC,2014)

Regardlessofhowaccuratethesenumbersare,theproportionsarelikelyanaccurate

representationofthestateofthelanguage.With81%oftheGitxsanpopulationnot

learningorspeakingthelanguage,andanincreasingurbanpopulation,it’simportantfor


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ourlanguagetobeaccessibletothoseinterestedinlearning.Itisonlypossiblefor

languagestoreachahealthystateifthelanguageisbeingusedinthehome(Fishman,

1991).

AnotherperspectiveonthestateoftheGitxsanlanguageisthroughthelensofan8-

stagescaleforreversinglanguageshiftdevelopedbyJoshuaFishman,alinguistandactivist

forendangeredlanguages(Fishman,1991).Althoughthisisnotanewevaluation

framework,itcontinuestoserveasanimportantframeworkforevaluatingthestateof

languageendangerment.Thetablebelowsummarizesstages5-8ofFishman’sevaluation

scale.MostFirstNationslanguagesinBCwouldbecategorizedinthesestages.

Stage Description RevitalizationEfforts8 - Mostthreatenedstage

- Languageisrarelyspoken- Nonewspeakersbeingcreated- Fewlearners- Nochildrenhavebeenraisedinthe

languagein2ormoregenerations- Fewisolatedelderlyspeakersleft

- Documentasmuchlanguageaspossible- Workwithexistingeldersand/orreconstruct

languagefromdocumentationifpossible

7 - Allremainingspeakersareoverchild-bearingage

- Nonewchildrenarebeingraisedinthelanguage

- Somelearners- Languageisstillheardatculturalevents- Thereisaculturallyactivepopulationof

speakers,mostlyovertheageof60

- Eldersareanactiveresource- Strengtheningbondsbetweenexistingspeakers

andlearners- Createopportunitiesforlearnerstospeakand

hearthelanguage- Createsecond-languagespeakersofchild-

bearingage- Bringthelanguageintothehome

6 - Themostcriticalstage-allsucceedingstagesdependonit

- Languageisspokeninthehome- Parentsareconsciouslyraisingtheir

childreninthelanguage

- Focusonbringingthelanguagebackintothehome

- Parentsmustbeempoweredandsupportedtospeakthelanguageathomewithchildren,elders,andothers

- Canbeastablestageforlanguageswithoutbeingwritten,taughtinschools,orspokenintheworkplace


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5 - Thelanguageisusedorallyandinwrittenformbymostallgenerationsinthecommunity

- Languageisusedinasocio-culturalwayinthecommunity

- Non-formallocallanguageschoolsmorecommonthanacademicinstitutions

- Offeringtheliteracyandprogramsintheschoolsandotherinstitutionsinthecommunitytostrengthenit’sperceivedvalue/prestigeinthecommunity

- Trynottodependonpublicinstitutionstoincreasetheamountofspeakersortostrengthenthestateofthelanguage

Table1:SummaryofFishman’sGradedIntergenerationalDisruptionScale(GIDS),Stages

5-8

Stages1through4areexcludedfromthesummary,asthesestagesfocusonformal

academicinstitutionsandhigherlevelsofgovernment,andmostFirstNationslanguagesin

BC,includingGitxsanimx,arenotthereyet.

LookingatFishman’sscaleforevaluatinglanguageendangermentIwouldplacemy

familyatalevel7.AtthisstageoflanguagerevitalizationFishmanrecommendsfocussing

onbuildingtheproficiencyinadultlanguagelearners.Manyexpertsandlanguage

revitalizationistsbelievethemostimportantthingisgettingthelanguageintothehome

(Fishman,1991;Hinton,2013).


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Background

FormycommunityprojectIchosetodocumentandcompilelanguagelearning

resourcestosharewithotherlanguagelearnersthroughawebsite.Thissectionoutlines

someofthefactorsthatinfluencedmechoosingthisproject,aswellasmyworkthroughout

theproject.

ThereweremanyIndigenousscholarswhospokeoftheimportanceofusing

Indigenousmethodologiesthatshapedmyworkalongtheway(Absolon,2011;Smith,

2012;Kovach,2009;Wilson,2008).TheknowledgeofIndigenousscholarsmustbe

relationalandneedstobesharedbackwiththecommunityinsomeway(Wilson,2008).

ReadingtheworkofthesescholarshadmeaskingmyselfhowcouldIperformresearchina

waythatwillgivebacktomycommunityandhonourtheintegralcomponentsof

Indigenousresearch.

GitxsanscholarssuchasJaneSmith(2004)havehelpedmetounderstandhowto

situatemyselfasaGitxsanpersonwithinanacademicframework.Althoughtheremaybea

lackofscholarlyliteratureproducedbyGitxsanpeople,Smithremindedmethatmuchof

ourGitxsanliteraturehasbeentransmittedfromgenerationtogenerationinmanyforms

suchasourblankets,stories,andtotempoles.Wehavearichhistorythatisexpressedin

manywaysandisequallyasvalidasthescholarlyworkdoneinacademicinstitutions.

Beinganurbanlanguagelearneralsoinfluencedmeinchoosingthisproject.Norris

(2011)outlineshow1in5Aboriginallanguagespeakersresideinurbanareas,andwith

urbanizationincreasing,it’simportanttomakelanguageresourcesaccessibleforlanguage


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learnerswherevertheymayreside.There’softenaddedcomplexitiesforurbanlanguage

learnersasthelanguagehasadirectconnectiontotheland(Baloy,2008).Formyself,I

oftenexperiencethedisplacementfrommytraditionalterritoriesasabarrierinmy

languagelearning.Baloyremindsusthatitispossibletonurtureidentityinurbanspaces

byidentifyingandfosteringtiesbetweenland,language,andidentity(Baloy,2011).

ThroughoutmyresearchBaloyhashelpedmetoseemylanguagelearningasan

opportunitytostrengthenmyconnectiontomytraditionalterritory,ratherthanseeingmy

urbanlivingasabarriertomylanguagelearning.

Theendangeredstatusofourlanguagehasalsobeeninfluentialinmechoosingthis

project.WithfluentGitxsanlanguagespeakersaccountingforabout5%ofthepopulation

(FPCC,2014),it’scrucialthatourlanguageisbroughtbackintothehomeandwecontinue

tocreatemoreopportunitiesforlearnerstolearn,speak,andhearthelanguage(Fishman,

1990;Hinton,2013).TheintentionofthewebsiteI’vecreatedistoprovidetheopportunity

tobringlanguageintothehomeandtoeliminatetherestrictiveaccesstolanguage

materials.Withourlanguagesittingatanapproximatestage7accordingtoFishman’s

GIDS,theactionstakenbythecommunityrightnowshouldbetocreatesecond-language

speakersofchildbearingage.Althoughthiswebsitemaynotdirectlycontributetothe

creationofsecond-languagespeakers,itdoescreatelearningopportunitieswhichcould

leadtobringingthelanguagebackinourhomes.Morelearningopportunitiescanbe

createdwithresourcesavailabletothepeople,thisisespeciallyhelpfulasmanyurban

Aboriginalpeopledonothaveaccesstoafluent-speaker/teacher.


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Allofthepeoplewhowe’resogenerousinsharingtheirlanguagematerialswithme

alsoinspiredmetogenerouslysharemyresourceswithothers.AsalanguagelearnerI’ve

hadachallengingtimebuildingresourcestohelpmelearn.Manypeoplewerevery

generouswithmeasIcontinuetolearnmylanguage.AlotoftheseresourcesIwastoo

scaredtouseasIwouldnotbeabletore-purchasethemorre-printthemonceIfilledthem

out.Inoneexample,mylateauntEstherheldontoastackoflanguagebooksthatwas

createdinthe70’s.OncetheywereinmypossessionIwasalsotooscaredtoousethem.

OnceIwriteinthebooksnobodyelsecanusethem,they’renolongerinprint,andatthe

timewerenotavailableforsaleanywhere.ItwasnotuntilIdigitizedthemandhadthem

availabletoreprintthatIwascomfortablefillingouttheworkbooksthatweregiftedtome.

Usingweb-designasatooltocontributetoIndigenouslanguagerevitalizationhas

beenchampionedbyscholarssuchasBuszard-Welcher(2001),Landzelius(2006),

Wenigwans(2008),Eisenlohr(2004),Baloy(2008),andSutton(2015).Itwasthese

scholarsthatgavemeabetterunderstandingofhowtodesignthewebsiteinaculturally

appropriateway.

IssuesGitxsanlanguagelearner’sface

WhenIfirstbeganlearningmylanguagemymainchallengewasthatIdidn’tknowwhere

tostart.Ididn’thaveanybookstohelpmeandIdidn’thaveanyspeakerstoteachme.I

foundthereisalackofinformationregardingwhatresourcesareavailabletosupport

Gitxsanlanguagelearnersorwheretofindthem.AtthetimetheonlyopportunityIcould


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findtolearnmylanguagewasthroughanonlinedictionaryhostedbyFirstVoices.com.I

startedlearningonephraseaday,andifIdidn’tmemorizeitIwouldlearnitagainthenext

day.EventuallyIheardaboutaweeklylanguageclasshappeninginmyareaandbegan

attending.ThiswasveryexcitingasitcanberaretohaveFirstNation’slanguageclasses

offeredinurbanareas.

Sometimesmythoughtsandemotionsaremyownbiggestbarriers.Ioftenfeel

discouragedbythelackofopportunitieswehavetolearnourlanguage.Thisisnota

measureofpersonalfailurebyourownpeople,ratheraresultofpoliticalconditions

beyondindividualcontrol(Napoleon,2001).It’simportanttoacknowledgethatthelackof

opportunitiestolearnourlanguageisusuallycausedbyimposedpoliticalconditionsof

culturaloppression.WithinCanada,church-runschoolswereoperatedfromthe1820’s

until1996inpartnershipwiththeGovernmentofCanada(CBC,2008).FirstNation’s

peoplehavelongexperiencedculturalandlinguisticgenocide(TruthandReconciliation

CommissionofCanada,n.d.).TheGovernmentofCanadahasneverfullyremoveditself

fromtheroleofthecolonizerofIndigenouspeoplesinCanada.AsaFirstNation’sperson,

I’veexperiencedculturalandlinguisticoppressionthroughoutmostofmyeducation.I

don’twanttoprivilegeavictimmentalitybyblamingourcurrentlanguagesituationon

ChristianchurchesandtheGovernmentofCanada,butit’simportanttoacknowledgethe

obviouspoliticalandsocialconditionsthathistoricallyandcurrentlycontinuetooppress

ourlanguages.


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Ingatheringmyresources,transportationwasabarrierforme.Becausealotof

resourcesarenotavailableon-linetheyhadtobeshippeddownfromourterritories.

OtherwiseIdrovefromvillagetovillagetopurchasetheresourcesthatIheardwere

available.Ibelievetransportationandfinancialresourcesarealsobarriersforother

languagelearners.

AssumingotherGitxsanfamiliesarelocatedatasimilarstageoflanguage

endangerment,it’sveryimportantthattheselanguageresourcesareaccessiblefor

languagelearners.Sharinginformationandresourcesisalsoagreatwayforcommunity

memberstoknowwhathasbeendone,whatisbeingdone,andwhatstillneedstobedone

intheeffortstoreverselanguageshiftinourcommunities.

Residinginanurbancontextaddsthecomplexityofbeingalmostcompletely

immersedinthedominantlanguageofEnglish.Languageaccessibilityisaconstraintfor

manyurbanAboriginalpeoples(Suleman,2011).SpeakingwithotherGitxsanlanguage

speakersresidingintheVancouverLowerMainlandI’vediscoveredmanyofusdon’thave

verymanypeopletospeakourlanguagewithonadailyorweeklybasis.Althoughthisisan

increasingissueforFirstNation’scommunitiesonreserveaswell.

Inourhomecommunities,Ihavetheopportunitytohearmylanguageeveryday.

There’samuchstrongerproportionoflanguagespeakersresidinginamuchcloservicinity.

Although,likemostFirstNation’scommunities,theselanguagespeakersareanaging

demographic.Asayounglanguage-learnerit’salsoverychallengingtofindpeersthatshare

aninterestinthelanguage.


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Projectdesign

Rationale

InchoosingmyprojectIhaddonemuchresearchtobetterunderstandwhatis

currentlybeingdonetoreversethedeclininguseoftheGitxsanlanguage.When

undertakingmyprojectIviewedthewebsitesofourbandoffices,elementaryschools,high

schools,schooldistricts,educationdepartmentsandsocieties.Phonecallsandin-person

conversationswe’realsousedingatheringinformationregardinglanguagepolicyinthe

community.

WhatIdiscoveredisthatthere’sahugelackofinformationregardingwhat

communityclassesexistandwhere,whatlanguagepoliciesareinplacetosupportSim

Algyaxindifferentorganizations,whatresourcesexisttohelplanguagelearnersandwhere

theycanbeaccessed.Therewasagenerallackofinformationregardingthestatusofour

languageandwhat’sbeingdonetoreversethedeclininguse.Myhopewasthatthewebsite

wouldaddresssomeofthesegapsininformationandcreateamoreinformedlearning

environment.Iseethisprojectasrelevanttothecommunityasitaffirmsthere’sawealthof

informationavailabletoourlanguagelearners.Itwillcontributetoourcommunityby

increasingtheawarenessandaccessibilityofGitxsanlanguageresources.

Targetaudience

ThetargetaudienceofthiswebsiteisfirstandforemostGitxsanlanguagelearners.

However,therearemanyothersthatIthinkwouldbenefitfromusingthiswebsite

includingGitxsanlanguageteachers,linguists,teachersofthepubliceducationsystem


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workingwithGitxsanstudents,parentsandfosterparentsraisingGitxsanchildren,andany

othersinterestedinworkingwiththeGitxsanlanguageandmovingitforwardinapositive

direction.

Projectdescription

IcreatedawebsitethatdocumentsandsharestheGitxsanlanguageresourcesthat

havebeencreated.I’vedocumentedasmuchresourcesaspossible,althoughIrealizethere

ismostlikelyresourcesthatexistthathavenotbeenaddedtothewebsite.Thiswebsite

willcontinuetogrowanddevelopafterIcompletethisMaster’sProject.

Thewebsiteopenstoapagethatintroducesthewebsite,thelanguage,andthe

author.Thefollowingpageiscommittedtosharingresources.Thecommunityresources

havebeenfurtherdividedintofoursub-categoriesincludingCurriculum,Dictionaries,

Stories&Books,andOther.ThenextpageofthewebsiteisaForum,wherecommunity

dialogueanddiscussioncantakeplace.Thefollowingpageofthewebsiteisentitled

“GitxsanimxinAction”andhighlightswhatiscurrentlybeingdonetoreversethedeclining

useoftheGitxsanlanguage;itincludesasummaryoflanguageuseinelementaryschools,

highschools,communityclasses,andlinguisticwork,etc.Thefinalpageofthewebsite

includesmycontactinformationifanybodywouldliketoprovidefeedbackorshare

resources.


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Projectpreparation

Beforethiswebsitecouldbepublishedtherewasmuchworkthatwasdone.Gitxsan

scholarssuchasJaneSmithhelpedmetounderstandhowtoperformmyresearchwhile

remaininggroundedinwhoIam.AsIbeganmyresearchjourneyIcleansedinourriver

andlearnedourlimxoo’y(mourningsong).ThroughoutmyresearchjourneyIprayedand

smudgedwithmulwusxw,asacredrootpulledfromthehelleboreplant(Smith,2004).

TherewerealsomanyresourcesIaccumulatedthatwouldbesharedonthewebsite.

Fortunately,IhadbeendoingthatlongbeforeIbeganthinkingaboutthisproject.Iwould

liketoacknowledgethepeoplewhogiftedmelanguageandlanguagematerialsalongthe

wayincludingBarbaraSennott,CatherineBlackstock,CindyJensen-Fisk,MichaelSchwann,

HenryDavis,AidenPine,MichaelHarris,HeatherandSarah,WineexandMelly,andthelate

EstherWale(forgivemeifImissedanybody).Ialsobuiltupmylanguagematerialsby

purchasingmaterialsfrom‘Ksangiftshop,AnsbayaxwElementarySchool,andGitksan-

Wet’suwet’enEducationSociety.Isometimesfoundresourcesinunexpectedplaceslikeat

agasstationintheYukonTerritory.IwasveryblessedwiththenumberofresourcesIhave

availabletohelpmelearn.Iknowhowhardtheyaretocomeby,innowaydoIwantto

hoardtheresourcesI’vecollected.Rathertheyneedtobeshared.Thiswebsitewasaway

formetosharewhatIhadcollectedovertheyears,andisgroundedintheprinciplesof

reciprocityandrelationalaccountability.


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Projectprocess

WhenIbegantothinkaboutthisprojectIhadtogothroughallmyresourcesand

createanorganizedlist.Theintentionoftheresourcelistwastobringawarenessand

organizationtothepreciousboxofbooksandCD’sIhadpossessionof.OnceIwasawareof

whatIhad,Ibegantodigitizetheseresources.Mostofthepaperresourcesweredigitized

usingthescannerintheLinguisticsDepartmentattheUniversityofBritishColumbia

(thankyouagaintoMichaelSchwannforallowingmetodothis).Audioresourceswere

digitizedbyinsertingthedisctomylaptopanduploadingthefiles.Thereweresomedigital

resourcesthatweremadetobe“interactive”andmorecomplextoupdateandtherefore

couldnotyetbeaddedtothewebsiteasadownloadable/share-ablefile.Therewerealso

otherresourcesthatIcouldn’tgetpermissiontoshare.IncaseslikethisIusedanimage,

introducedtheresource,andprovidedinformationtowheretheresourcescouldbe

accessed.

AseverythingwasbeinguploadedIsavedittomyDropboxaccountasabackupto

ensurenoresourceswerelostalongtheway.Duringthedigitizationprocess,Ialsobegan

researchingplatformsavailableforbuildingwebsitesandlookingtoseehowotherFirst

Nation’sandorganizationshaveusedtechnologytomeettheircontentmanagementneeds.

Iconsideredseveralplatformsincluding,Webs,Wix,Weebly,WordPress.Ialsolookedat

differentcontentmanagementsoftware’s.Iwantedtouseasimplewebdesignplatform

withouttoomanyoptionsandfeatures,andtokeeptheprocesssimple.Intheend,Ichose

Weeblybecauseitlookedeasiesttonavigateandmostaccessible.


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IfoundWeeblytobeveryaccessible,thebuildablefeaturesforthewebsiteallrunin

asmallmenu-barontheleftside.Ithassimilarfeaturestoawordpublishingsoftware

whichmadeiteasytonavigate.Itisafreewebdevelopmentplatform,althoughIpaidto

upgradetheserviceasIwantedmorespaceforstoringdocumentsaswellasaccessto

technicalsupport.

Themenurunningalongsideofthescreenallowedmetodraganddroptitles,text

boxes,pictures,anddownloadbuttons,rightontoeachwebpage.ThenIwasablelinkthe

downloadbuttontodocumentssavedonmylaptop.IfIhadanissue,thetechnicalsupport

teamwastheretoassistmeinoperatingthesoftwaretomeetmyneeds.

OncethewebsitewasnearlycompleteandIhadsomethingtoshowpeople,Iwent

tomyhomecommunityandtriedtocreatemorecommunitydialogueandinvolvement

throughaninterviewingprocess.Icontactededucationorganizationsanddepartments,

bandoffices,localschools,languagelearners,languageteachersandcurriculum

developers,etc.FormanyreasonsIfounditchallengingtoschedulemeetingswithpeople.

Althougheverybodywhoviewedthewebsitewasverysupportive,Ididn’treceivemuch

criticalfeedbackonhowIcouldimprovethewebsite.AlthoughIdidn’tgetthecommunity

involvementIwashopingfor,Itrustedthisprojectwouldbebeneficialforacommunityof

languagelearners.ThefeedbackIdidreceivewaspositiveandsupportiveandIappreciate

thosethattookthetimetotalkwithme.


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Projectaims

1) Tobuildaplatformtoarchivelanguagelearningmaterials

2) Tobuildacommunityoflearnersandspeakers

3) TocreateamoreinformedlearningenvironmentforGitxsanlanguagelearners

Methods

Incompletingtheprojectaims,Icategorizedmyprojectacrossseveralfieldsincluding

Gitxsanpedagogy,Indigenouslanguagerevitalization,urbanlanguagelearning,aswellas

digitizationofculturalresources.Aparticipatoryactionresearchmethodwasusedtoguide

myactionsthroughoutmyproject.Indigenousresearchisoftenactionbasedand

communityoriented(Kipp,2000;Kovach,2009;Johnson,2013).

Inexploringtheprojectaims,Itriedtobeinclusivetocommunityneeds.Ifirst

researchedtheenvironmentoftheGitxsanlanguage.Theintentionwastounderstandwhat

hasbeendone,sothatIcouldmakeamoreinformeddecisionaboutwhatneededtobe

donenext.Afterperformingextensiveresearch,Istilldidnothaveaclearunderstandingof

whatwasbeingdonetoreversethedeclininguseoftheGitxsanlanguage.Accessibilityto

languageisabarrierforlanguagelearnersbothonreserveandinurbanareas.Thewebsite

isdesignedtoaddressthelackoforganizedinformationregardingtheGitxsanlanguage.I

haveaimedtopresentitinawaythat’sinteractive,accessible,andmeetsthedemandsof

Gitxsanlanguagelearners,likemyself.Thiswebsitewillcontributetoourcommunityby

increasingtheawarenessandaccessibilityoftheGitxsanlanguage.


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Methodology

ManyIndigenousscholarshavewrittenabouthowIndigenousresearchistransformative,

action-oriented,andreaffirmsrelationalaccountabilityandreciprocity(Smith,2008;

Wilson,2008;Kovach,2009).MyworkwasgroundedintheGitxsanprincipalsofGuxsLuu

YaldinsxwandGwalxYeedinsxw,togivebackandpassontheknowledgethathasbeen

taughttoyou.

ThroughoutthisprojectItrustedthatthiswaswhatIneededtobedoing.Iwaslead

tothisprojectinaskingmyself,“HowcanIcontribute?”Ihadtoconsciouslytrustmy

intuitionandinner-knowledgeasbeingavalidsourceofknowledge(Absolon,2011;Smith,

2004);knowingthatthiswebsiteisgoingtobeofservicetotheGitxsanlanguage

community,knowingthatthiswebsitewasgoingtobeacentralhubwherecouldcanstore

andaccessresources,shareinformation,andmoveforwardworkingtogether.This

knowing,thissenseofinner-knowledge,comesfromourrelationshipwithourancestors,

andisagiftgiventoustohelpusonourjourneys(Smith,2004).

Resourcesgathered

Icategorizedthecommunitylanguageresourcesintofoursubcategories:Dictionaries,

Curriculum,Books,andOther.Thefollowingresourcesareavailableonthewebsiteat

www.gitxsansimalgyax.com.


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Dictionaries

● “AShortPracticalDictionaryfortheGitksanLanguage”madein1978byLonnie

HindleandBruceRigsby.ThisresourcewasintendedtohelpGitxsanpeoplewho

wishtolearntowritetheirlanguage.

● “GitxsanimxSpeller:TextforAdultGitxsanimxClass”MadebyDr.JaneSmith.This

resourcewascreatedforAdultGitxsanimxstudentstouseinaGitxsanimx

classroomenvironment.

● UntitledandundateddictionarycreatedbyRobinThistleWalker.Itwasintendedto

beusedintheGitxsanNativeStudiesProgramofSchoolDistrictNo.88,Terrace.

● “Ha’niimagoo’ansxwhumalgyaxhlGitksen-Gitksan:Gitxsenimx–Gitxsanimaxto

EnglishDictionary”Thisresourcewascreatedbyalargeteamofcommunity

membersandconsultants.It’sintendedtoassistGitxsanimxsecondlanguage

learnerstospeak,read,andwritewhilerespectingbothdialects

● “TheFirstVoicesLanguageArchive”isalanguagearchivalprojectthatcontains

audiorecordingsofArtMatthewsSpeakingGitksenimx(GyeetsDialect).This

projectwasdonesometimeintheearly200’sandisintendedtobeusedbythe

Gitxsancommunityandfuturegenerations.ResourceisavailableonFirstVoices

website.


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Curriculum

● “GitxsanimxforKids:Books1-7”asetof7bookscreatedin1977byVickieJensen

andEdithGawawiththehelpofJayPowellandRussellStevens.It’sintendedfor

childrengrades3-7andisintheGeenixdialect.Books1-3focusonvocabulary

buildingandbooks4-7focusongrammaticalstructure.Writingisintroducedin

Book6.

● “LearningGitksan:Book1-4”isasetof4booksthatwascreatedin1980byVickie

JensenandJ.V.Powellalongwithalargeteamofcommunitymembersfromthe

GitxsanNation.Thesebooksareintendedforgrades4-6.Book1focuseson

pronunciation,vocabulary,andbasicgrammar.Book2focusesonverbs,Book3

focusesonadjectivesandfeastlanguage,andlastlyBook4presentssentence

patternsfortalkingaboutwherethingsareandwhereoneisgoing.

● “Gitxsanimx:GitksanLanguage:Book1&2”isasetofbookscreatedin1977byJ.V.

PowellandRussellStephensandateamofcommunitymembersoftheGitxsan

Nation.There’salsoanaudioCDtoaccompanythesebooks.Thesetwobookswere

createdasateachingresourcefortheKispioxSchool.

● “TheGitxsanimxTeacher:Text&CD”isanundatedresourcecreatedbyDr.Jane

Smith.Theintentionisthatitwillhelpthefuturesecond-languagespeakersof

Gitxsanimx.


23

Stories&Books

● “We-gyetWandersOn”isacollectionofstoriesputtogetherin1977bythe‘KSAN

BookBuilders.ThebookwaswrittenfortheGitxsanpeoplesothattheymay

rememberthestoriesofWe-gyet.EachstoryistoldonceinEnglishandoncein

Gitxsanimx.ThisbookisavailableforpurchasethroughHancockHousePublishers

website.

● “GitxsanimxPrayersandSongs”(Text&CD)isabi-lingualbookandaudiorecording

createdbyDr.JaneSmith.Thiscollectionofprayersiswrittenandrecordedin

GitxsanimxandEnglish.ThisresourceisdesignedtohelpGitxsanimxlanguage

learnerslearnhowtoprayinSimAlgyax.

OtherResources

● “GitxsanimxInteractiveCD’s:1-3”isasetofinteractiveCD’screatedin1006by

GWES.TheseCD’sareforbeginnerlanguagelearnersandfocusonvocabulary

buildingandbasicgrammar.

● “NoviceLanguageCD”isanotherinteractiveprogramcreatedin2006byGWES.

ThisCDisdesignedtofollowGitxsanimxInteractiveCD’s1-3andisdesignedfora

higherleveloflanguageproficiency.

● “CommonDialogueCD”areisaCDcreatedin2007byGWES.“CommonDialogueis

acollectionofrecordedphasesthatarefoundincommonconversationsamongst

theGitxsanpeople.


24

● “DarknessCalls(SuicidePreventioninGitxsan)isananimatedfilmcreatedin2009

byHealthyAboriginalNetworkandvoicedoverinGitxsanimxbyGWES.The

intentionistocontributetosuicidepreventionintheGitxsancommunity.Italso

makesagreatresourceforlanguagelearners.

● “MatrilinealKinshipTree”isadiagramcreatedin2012byBarbaraSennottand

CindyJensen-Fisk.Itillustrateswhatafamily-treelookslikelookslikeinGitxsanimx

fromafemaleperspective.

● LearnGitxsan.comisawebsitecreatedbyBetseyLomax–alanguagespeaker,

teacher,andactivistoftheGitxsanlanguage.Herwebsiteisintroducedandalinkto

herwebsitehasbeenadded.

Outcomes

Theprimaryoutcomeoftheprojectisauser-friendlywebsitethatwillhelpGitxsan

languageworkersandlanguagelearnerstoaccessGitxsanlanguagematerialsandlearn

aboutwhatiscurrentlybeingdonetoreversethedeclininguseoftheGitxsanlanguage.In

additiontothewebsiteIwillcreatephysicalpromotionalmaterialsthatIcandistribute

withinthecommunitywhenItravelhome.

Thispapersupplementsthemainwebsiteprojectandservesasaresourceand

potentialguideforotherpeoplewhoareconsideringdesigningaweb-basedresourceasa

waytocontributetotheirlanguagerevivalandthefieldofIndigenouslanguage

revitalization.


25

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