Elders and leaders from many different language-groups within Saskatchewan attended this week’s Language-Keepers conference in Saskatoon.
Delegates heard pleas from elders to keep speaking their language at home and within their communities.
Peter Nippi of the Kinistin First Nation stressed First Nations people must refrain from saying their language is lost.
He says if anyone doubts that they should look in the mirror and realize it’s alive.
Dororthy Myo is the president of the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre.
She says the fight to retain languages is an ongoing struggle but it is possible:
“It’s never easy that’s for sure. We’re hopeful. It doesn’t take loads of money but it certainly helps us when it comes to developing materials and resources for our people.”
She adds it was reassuring to hear so many different languages spoken at the conference.
One elder, who introduced herself as Woman of the Stars, says her community on the Standing Buffalo reserve has gone through a tough time lately.
She says they lost six elders in 2010 alone, leaving behind fewer and fewer traditional speakers.
At the same time she says technology has become useful in keeping the Dakota language alive:
“Good thing for modern technology, the cell-phone? Every morning I get two calls, two texts, one is from my grand son-in-law. He greets me every morning in the Dakota language.”
Another elder says technology can be problematic though, as many youth worry more about staying in touch with their friends through cell-phones than learning about their language and culture.