First Nations Languages Facing Extinction

Posted May 4, 2010 By tansi

There are only five Snuneymuxw people left who are fluent in the traditional Hul’q'umi’num’ language, elder Gary Manson estimates.

“And that’s probably pushing it.”

A report released last week on the demise of First Nations languages in B.C. says that three languages are designated as “sleeping” with no fluent speakers and 22 are nearly extinct. The Hul’q'umi’num’ language, traditionally spoken by First Nations from the Malahat to Nanoose Bay, has 278 fluent speakers and is classified as “severely endangered.”

No one will be fluent in most of B.C.’s 32 First Nations languages within six years if action isn’t taken to prevent the decline, says the report by the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council, a crown corporation created to help First Nations revitalize their languages and arts.

Read more.

Categories: Culture, Education, First Nation, Language
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Pow-wow Songs for Kids

Posted March 7, 2010 By móniyáw
Cover art for "Kids' Pow-Wow Songs ~ Black Lodge Singers"

Kids' Pow-Wow Songs ~ Black Lodge Singers

Kids’ Pow-Wow Songs ~ Black Lodge Singers. Personally, my favourite is Mighty Mouse.

Categories: Arts, Culture, Entertainment
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Is Avatar raising awareness?

Posted January 7, 2010 By móniyáw

I have seen a number of blog postings and articles that contrast the movie Avatar with the challenges faced by indigenous peoples. Do you think that Avatar is raising the general public awareness of issues such as land claims or fishing rights? Arguably, Dances with Wolves raised awareness, but will Avatar have a similar impact beyond preaching to the converted?

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Good science fiction often addresses issues that we’re dealing with here on Earth today. Avatar, in my opinion, is about 75 percent a commentary on the plight of indigenous peoples, and 25 percent a commentary on U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My companions thought this message was a bit heavy handed. I agree to some extent. A good director wants his viewers to be lost in the story and to have to the feeling of being transported to another time and place; to forget that he or she is sitting in a theater. Cameron failed in this respect because the plot was so laden with these Earth-bound references that they distracted me. The Na’vi animated characters even used American facial expressions and hand gestures.
As for the not too subtle themes, that didn’t bother me as much because the plight of native peoples everywhere is a message that needs to be brought to wider audiences.

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You can read the full blog here.

Categories: Culture, Entertainment
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What do you call an Indigenous person? I like to use the first name…

Posted January 6, 2010 By móniyáw

You know how much I hate how reporters and editors – especially editors because they should know better – misuse, abuse and confuse the terms for Indigenous peoples in Canada. I also know that YOU know what I’m talking about – if only because I rant each time another idiotic example rises above my tolerance threshold.

I am not certain if the author completely captures the problem, but I like his example and it certainly points to our collective ignorance. Read the full story here.

Categories: Culture
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B.C.’s lieutenant-governor carving a First Nations canoe

By móniyáw

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First Nations people would have used this type of canoe to hunt in lakes and streams by lighting a fire in a pit at the bow, hiding behind a hunting blind, and spearing fish that were attracted to the flame, said Point.

The lieutenant-governor, who was appointed in 2007 after serving as a provincial court judge, said he intends to try the hunting method during the canoe’s launch ceremony.

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Read the full story here.

Categories: Culture
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Musical connection between First Nation cultures

Posted January 5, 2010 By móniyáw

A musical connection between First Nation cultures of north and south occurred on the weekend and a Prince Albertan took part.

Prince Albert musician Violet Naytowhow participated in a unique cultural collaboration, which involved First Nations musicians from across Canada and a group from Ecuador at the Ness Creek Music Festival on the weekend.

Read the full article here.

Categories: Arts, First Nation
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Bad taste or cutting edge fashion?

Posted January 4, 2010 By móniyáw

As a Native American, I find it very disturbing that there are laws protecting monetary investments, yet there is nothing to protect my people from being portrayed as long dead relics with nothing left but the memory of a culture to be poked and prodded.

We are not gone, but we are forgotten. Any time an Indian (Native American) stands up to voice an opinion about anything, we are told to sit down, be quiet, and forget our history. “It’s in the past, get over it,” that is the usual response we get.

The post and subsequent comment is old. A quick search in Google shows a number of uses for ceremonial drums, used at pow-wows, as coffee tables and pleasant décor. Most people would consider using a baptismal water urn as the holder for a drinking fountain bad taste, but a ceremonial drum as a coffee table might receive praise as fashionable. Read the full comment and learn more here.

Categories: Education
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