Keeping our languages alive

Strategies for Indigenous language revitalization and maintenance

Since time immemorial, Indigenous languages have thrived in their homelands. In the land now called Canada, more than 500 years ago foreigners arrived from lands afar and brought with them their languages. Through many devastating events such as genocide, colonialism, linguistic imperialism, new disease, forced relocation, the upset of Indigenous economic, social and political systems as well as the most likely influential factor – the enforcement of English (and French) – only residential schools for most Indigenous children ‒ First Nations languages have declined in use and some have become dormant (Galley 2009; McCarty 2003).

McIvor, O. & Anisman, A. (2018). Keeping our languages alive: Strategies for Indigenous language revitalization and maintenance. In Y. Watanabe (Ed.), Handbook of Cultural Security, (pp. 90-109). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.