Mohawk First Nations Language Revitalization in Canada

1. MohawkFirst Nations Language Revitalization in Canada Presented by Samantha Demeyer, Corinne Hamill, Kayla Mcelwee, Deborah Obregon, Celeste Padilla

2. Cultural demographics • Mohawk nation encompasses 8 communities across Canada and the United States • Mohawk part of Iroquois language family • Focus of our research is on Kahnawake, 20 min away from urban center of Montreal, Quebec • Mohawk Nation population 16, 200, Population in Kahnawake 7,300 • Montreal Population approximately 3, 800, 000

4. Language demographics • Language Majority Groups: English and French • Language Minority Groups: Iroquois and Algonquian Language Families • Linguistic position of Kahnawake children upon entering immersion schools • 1950s: most children spoke exclusively English • 1970s: there was a push to begin teaching Mohawk at a younger age before school • Present: many children enter school with knowledge of Mohawk language “ It is not uncommon in Kahnawake to hear people conversing with their grandchildren in Mohawk, then switching to English to speak to their own children” Hoover, Michael. "The Revival of the Mohawk Language in Kahnawake." Brandonu. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 July 2013.

5. Mohawk Instructional Practices with Canada's Revitalization Program • Kindergarden-6th grade: only Mohawk • 7&8: 50% Mohawk and 50% English • High School: 40% Mohawk and 60% English • Students have are required to take one semester of Mohawk and one semester of Native Studies that is taught only Mohawk. • Goal: to transmit the language and culture so they can continue the cultural way of life.

6. MohawkInstructionalPracticeswithCanada'sRevitalizationProgramMohawkInstructionalPracticeswithCanada'sRevitalizationProgram • Kahnawake during the 1970's only 15 minutes of Mohawk was taught in elementary schools • Bill 101 enacted many Mohawk books, pictures, resources become available to public. • The public came together and created a program to teach Mohawk in school. • Created a bond between the community

7. Language, Literacy and Cultural goals Example: Akwenasene Freedom School (preK-8 immersion) • preK-6 in Mohawk, English introduced in 7th grade • 50:50 English and Mohawk helping with transition to public school • Preservation of culture (stories, skills, art, history, way of life) • Strengthen Mohawk Nation • Raise up leaders by teaching the whole person • Language learned by speaking then writing & reading

8. Policy Issues from 17th Century to 1970 • Beginning in the mid-17th Century • The Indian Residential Schools (IRS) educational system saw First Nations children taken to boarding schools to be “civilized,” educated, and converted to Christianity. • In the 1970’s, asharp policy shift from segregation toward integration increased the role of provinces and territories in the education of First Nations children. • 60% of First Nations students were attending provincial or territorial public schools. • Little accommodation was made for the educational needs of First Nations students, including respect for their languages, history and cultures.

9. Policy Issues from 1970 to 1990 • In 1972, the National Indian Brotherhood manifested its vision for its education in a position paper entitled Indian Control of Indian Education. • The document set out an educational philosophy affirming the principles of First Nations local control of education. • Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, the federal government embarked on transferring responsibility for on-reserve elementary and secondary education to First Nations.

10. Policy Issues: 1990s to Now • 1999: Kahnawake Language Law • “We are determined to remind the People of the importance of reviving, restoring, and perpetuating our language.” • Communication, education, ceremony, government, and business • 2010: UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples • Canada originally opposed in 2007 • Culture, identity, language, health, and education • 2010: McIvor v. Canada • 45,000 more people will become entitled to registration • If a part of the community, more likely to retain language, culture, etc. More than Mohawk continue to speak their traditional language (Abler 1996) 3,000

11. Policies Compared to the United States Educational/Language Policies • Originally derived from the United States • Has resulted in much language loss • Indian Act of 1920 • Defines who is an “Indian” • Made attendance compulsory in residential schools • Instruction in English-only

12. Group Consensus Niawen’kó:wa (thank you very much)

13. Reference List • http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/411/appa/rep/rep03dec11-e.pdf • http://www.kahnawake.com/council/docs/LanguageLaw.pdf • http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf • http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/mohawk • http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/mohawk.htm • http://www.kahnawakelonghouse.com/index.php?mid=2 • <!--[endif]-->http://www.autochtones.gouv.qc.ca/relations_autochtones/profils_nations/mohawks_en.htm • http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/cjns/12.2/hoover.pdf • http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/policy-areas/education • Hoover, Michael. "The Revival of the Mohawk Language in Kahnawake." Brandonu. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 July 2013 • And of course: García, Ofelia, and Beardsmore Hugo. Baetens. Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell Pub., 2009. Print.