School District 92 Nisga’a

Language & Culture

Nisga’a Nation Special Assembly

September 15th, 2010

Laxgalts’ap

Acknowledgements

Those that were before us

Fluent Speakers: Council

on Curriculum

NESS Elder in Residence

Board of Education

Superintendant &

Principals

NLC Staff

Language Teachers

Kim Hansen’s Students

Past ReviewsA.A. McKay

Overview

Background: Where are we

coming from?

– Esther

Situation: Where are we at now?

– Esther & Tina

Draft Plans: Where do we hope

to go?

– Tina

Successes

– Tina

Challenges

– Esther

Clarification: Are we on the right

trail?

– FeedbackCecil Award

Where are we coming from?

Vibrant & Strong

Culture, Language

Bi-Cultural Program

Immersion Project

in all 4 Schools

Bert & Lucy

Where are we at now? Nisga’a language on severely endangered language list with 435 fluent

speakers (p. 23 FPHLCC: Report on the Status of BC FN Languages, 2010)

SPEAKERS

– Rarely used as mother tongue by children

– Spoken as mother tongue by grandparent generation and up

– Not normally spoken by adults and children except for some who are learning

USAGE

– Only sometimes used between elderly speakers

– Rarely/never used for natural daily communication

– Some adults and children are learning, but not fluent

– Limited language learning programs

LANGUAGE RESOURCES

– Limited documentation - Some languages have extensive documentation, but few to

no speakers(p. 13 FPHLCC: Report on the Status of BC FN Languages, 2010)

SOME OTHER INDICATORS

– Children coming to school no longer fluent in the language

– Main language of use in the home, school, community , service provider institutions

and government is English

– Women of child bearing age no longer fluent

– Language teachers no longer have the fluency level at the “Elder level”

– Language has become very symbolic, used mostly in ceremonies

– School instruction largely in English language and through Western Culture

DISRUPTION in

Cycle of Learning

(Intergenerational

Transmission )

of Culture &

Language

Where are we at now? Hopes & Expectations for Students to become fluent

speakers

NOW

AAMES ½ Day K

Immersion

2nd language program that

supports and enhances

Nisga’a culture and

language

A program that produces

good readers & writers,

but not fluent speakers

Teachers that want to

become fully fluent

NEED

Need fluent speaker support

for teachers

Need a curriculum designed

to produce fluent speakers

Need of resources for

language teachers

Need of financial resources

for staff, fluent speakers,

curriculum & kit

development, materials

production, recording,

operating costs, …

Research

A. Unite & Plan

B. Create Speakers

C. Preserve

D. Protect

E. Promote

Ignace,

Burnaby, Blair,

Fishman, Wurm

FPHLCC

AFN

YFN

Maori

Hawaiian

Posovac &

Carey, Michael

Fullan, …

RESPECTING OUR MANDATE

• be a part of a team for bigger picture

• ensure accuracy and authenticity from

Fluent Speakers: Council on Curriculum

• plan strategically & long term

• success based approach

• focus on developing fluent speaking

teachers

• focus on early years & younger children

• preserve through cycle of

reformat/digitize/organize/access for

authentic speech

• utilize preservation for learning materials

• establish resource center to for all to

receive access

• Legislation, policies & guidelines to support

• promotion in schools and throughout

district

Draft Work Plan

Multi-Year (5 -10 yr.)

Renewal /Review Process Annually

Dependent on Funding

Needs more feedback and

clarification from partners

Some actions are underway

Collective thinking is needed

Guiding Principles

To the best of our ability…

we will include and involve fluent speakers to guide the work in

Nisga’a culture and language;

we will work to increase capacity of Nisga’a citizens;

we will involve our partners, Nisga’a citizens and School

District staff in our work in a respectful and meaningful way;

we will recruit fluent speakers in language and culture teaching

and non-teaching positions;

we will promote the learning of Nisga’a language and culture

with children, youth and families;

we will demonstrate respect in the work that we do; and

we will acknowledge and honor the hard work of our

predecessors.

GOALS:

To honor our ancestors

and our people by

working towards the

revitalization,

perpetuation and

preservation of Nisga'a

language and culture.

To help bring language

back into the home,

community and service

provider organizations, as

the main language of use

and the mother tongue of

our future generations.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To contribute to increasing the number of fluent

speakers.

2. To record, digitize and provide access to living

and non-living Nisga’a language and culture

resources.

3. To work towards increasing the status of the

Nisga’a language.

4. To develop a promotion and “motivation” strategy

to encourage children, youth and parents to learn

and speak their language and culture.

5. To provide an education program for Nisga’a

language and culture that leads to competency in

culture and fluency in language.

6. To work towards inclusion of Nisga’a language

and culture throughout the entire system:

curriculum, methods of teaching, student

assessment, policies, programs, daily operations,

etc.

1. Create Fluent Speakers

STRATEGIESFocus Early Years

Focus Receptive

Bilinguals

Create fluent teachers

Develop Curriculum &

Resource Kits

Balance “Western with

Authentic-Natural”

Set up to Succeed

ACTION

Language in the Home

Language Nest

Master Apprentice

Bi-lingual Team

Teaching

Immersion Retreats

Immersion K-3

Immersion 4 to 7?

2. Record, Digitize & Access

STRATEGIESPartner with 4

Governments

Speakers from 4

communities – 4 tribes

Gender Balance

Utilize Community

Connections sharing

concept & project

funding

Strengthen Fluent

Speakers: Council on

Curriculum

ACTION

Fluent Speakers

Council on Curriculum

Resource Center

Planning

Digitize Old

Recording Studio

Organize

Provide access

Market

3. Increase Status & Protect

STRATEGIESWork alongside

partners

Vision, goals,

expectations,…will

help guide reviews

ACTION

Review, revise and

develop legislation

Review, revise and

develop policy

Develop guidelines

4. Promote & Motivate

STRATEGIESAwareness

Understanding

Commitment

On-Going Motivation

Intergenerational

Seeds

ACTION

Create Diglossia

Credentials

Incentives

Pro-D, Speakers,

Conferences

Information Sessions

– Communication -

Meetings

Capacity Building

Role Modeling

5. School Culture & Language

Program

STRATEGIESFluent Speakers

Council on

Curriculum

Culture & Language

Communication &

Collaboration

Success Approach

ACTION

Curriculum: Non-

Speaker to Fluency

Nisga’a Education

Resource Kits for

every Grade level

Piloting –Review

Cycle

Training for Teachers

6. Inclusion into Western System

STRATEGIES

Best of Both Worlds

Prerequisite: Curriculum

Framework & Philosophical

Foundation

Inclusion is inter-

disciplinary & across the

spectrum: curriculum,

resources, methods,

discipline, spec. ed.

assessment, legislation,

policies, atmosphere,

conduct, ceremonies, etc.

ACTION

Prioritize

Ceremony

Welcome Back

Speaker Staff

Discipline

Restorative Action

Curriculum/Resources/Methods

Feast Book

Land Claims

Self-Government

Ayuuk

PE 10

Woodworking 10

First Peoples 10, 11, 12

FN Studies 11 (12)

Successes

Fluent Speakers Council

on Curriculum

SD Seal of Approval

Lord’s Prayer

Language Analysis, DVDs,

Draft Kit, Posters,

Placemats, Audio

Additional Ts’ak Videos

Supportive Board of

Education & School

District Staff

Community Connections –

A Beginning to a Resource

Center

Draft Plan to begin with

Curriculum Working Group

– Review of Curriculum Models

– Curriculum Plan

– Framework Skeleton

– Draft materials for Goals

Good Relationships with

Teachers

Establishing a presence of

the NLC Center

Challenges – FUNDING, Speakers,

Human Resources, Capacity, Time

Funding Fluent Speakers: Council on

Curriculum Honoraria Costs

Master Speakers (honoraria)

Professional Growth,

Development, In-servicing,

Training

Contract Writers• Curriculum

• Education Resource Kits

• Content - Background

Operating Costs• Resource Center

• Language Nests

• Immersion Programs

• Immersion Retreat

Human Resources Adm. Asst/Librarian Support

Director – Manager (overall)

Program Implementer –

Coordinator (in school/class

support for teachers)

Pre-school Language Nest Staff

Language in the Home Staff

Bilingual Team Teaching – Elder

in Residence Staff

Master-Apprentice Language

Proficiency./Immersion Coord

Language & Culture Tech Coord

Language & Culture Audio and

Visual Production

*** “Cadillac Version” estimate based on plan developed

Working in Unity

Language & Culture

Home

Early Learning

Schools

Health

Community

Service Providers

Adult Education

Government

Cultural InstitutionsCentral Team/Coordinators

Cohesive Plans

Concerted Efforts

Sharing Resources

Sharing Expertise

Continuous Renewal

Are we on the right trail?

Clarification

Feedback

Communication

Collaboration Fluency

Recording & Digitizing & Access

Status & Protect

Promote & Motivate

School Programs

Inclusion

Speakers

Collaboration

Partners

Communication

Cohesion

Success Based

Planning

Multi-Year