March 31, 2021
The Indigenous peoples in Canada have celebrated March 31st to honour the strength and endurance of our languages. There are thousands of Indigenous Language Champions creating and delivering Indigenous languages programs every day.
I celebrate the work of our Indigenous Language Champions who are revitalizing and are seeking ways to sustain the survival of our languages. I acknowledge the difficult burden they are carrying to reverse more than a century of attempts to erase our languages and identity, mostly through residential schools.
Our communities now have opportunities to live and learn our Mother tongues through Language Nests, Immersion Programs, Language and Cultural Camps, and to offer Master-Apprentice Programs as well as degree programs for our Teachers and those who want to become fluent speakers and Language Teachers. Across the country we have asserted greater determination to use our languages, our identities, and to seek equitable recognition and support to that which is provided to the official languages in this country.
At this time I wish to acknowledge the importance of language and culture for the well-being and resilience of Indigenous communities around the world. It’s also a day to lift up our hands to the many language champions working to address the language crisis facing Indigenous peoples.
Lenora Maracle
UNE National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples