This weekend, Elders will be leading the way in bringing a new generation to traditional language. The catch is, it’s not around a sharing circle or any other cultural setting, it’ll be with VR controllers and high technology. Kids from 10 years to 17 will be the focus of the project, along with parents/guardians.
The event is being h
eld Saturday, September 14th at the University of Alberta campus through the collaboration of the Department of Anthropology, as well as the Otipemisiwak Métis Government/ Métis Nation of Alberta, The Urban Society of Aboriginal Youth (USAY), The Kule Institute for Advanced Study, Supporting Indigenous Languages Revitalization (SILR) and the Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development institute.
The languages being explored in the gaming scenario are Cree, Gwich’in, Mi’kmaq, Dene Tha’, Michif, and Stoney Nakoda.
Kimberley LaFramboise spoke with Allyson Brinston, a student of Anthropology, who explains how she connected with others nationwide to make this unique idea a reality.
In the 2021 census by Statistics Canada, over 1.8 million people in Canada identified as Indigenous, making up 5 per cent of the national population. The most vulnerable languages worldwide are Indigenous languages, many of which exist in purely oral form.
There are some 70 Indigenous languages in Canada alone.
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