Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde will be meeting with ministers of culture and heritage from all levels of government in Yellowknife on Tuesday.
In a media release on the upcoming meetings, Bellegarde says he will urge the governments to work with First Nations on immediate action to revitalize, maintain, preserve and protect First Nations languages.
“Language is a right. Language is fundamental to who we are as First Nations peoples. Language is life,” said Bellegarde in the media release. “There is a role for every government and every jurisdiction to work with First Nations.”
Bellegarde says they are working with First Nations and the federal government to co-develop federal legislation on language development. He says they are inviting provinces and territories to take part in this process.
“There is a resurgence of First Nations people eager to learn their languages and those who want to revitalize and strengthen our languages,” said Bellegarde. “I look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts to ensure First Nations languages are spoken in this land by the coming generations.”
The AFN says they have been working with the Government of Canada since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his commitment to co-developing an Indigenous Languages Act in 2016.
Bellegarde hopes to have this languages act in place before the next federal election.
According to a 2017 Nanos poll, 74 per cent of Canadians support the creation of an Indigenous Languages Act.
There are more than 58 distinct Indigenous languages and more than 90 distinct languages and dialects spoken in Canada.
The AFN says there are no First Nations languages considered to be safe.
(PHOTO: Chief Perry Bellegarde. Photo courtesy afn.ca)