First Nations educators and language teachers made their way to Saskatoon this week for an Aboriginal education conference.
The educators were taking in various workshops at the 2015 Awasis Aboriginal Education Conference at the Saskatoon Inn.
Virginia McKay, a teacher from Cumberland House, says she has enjoyed the First Nations language and culture that has been promoted during the conference.
“Some of the ideas we get here we can take back to our communities and use them,” says McKay. “The conference is focusing on First Nations culture and I think that is important.”
One of the workshops was a presentation by language consultant Darren Okemaysim of the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre.
He spoke on First Nations community-based language programming.
Okemaysim says more language programs need to be designed for more pre-school or daycare aged youth.
“The requests coming to us now is help in developing those programs because we know that language taught during the formative years is the best way to go,” says Okemaysim.
Okemaysim says the best First Nations language programs are ones where connections are made between the students and the entire community.