Literature, arts, media key in language revitalization

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If Aboriginal languages are to survive and thrive, their usage can't be limited to the classroom. They must be used, read and heard in literature, in the arts and in all forms of media.

This was one of the conclusions that came out of a unique conference held at the En'owkin Centre Nov. 26 to 28 that brought together Aboriginal storytellers, writers, media professionals, performers, musicians and language advocates from across the country. Joining them were representatives from government and other agencies involved in funding language preservation efforts.

Among those taking part were keynote speakers Anishnawbe author and storyteller Basil Johnson, Metis author, playwright and film-maker Maria Campbell and Nunavut languages commissioner Eva Aariak. Special honorees, including poet Rita Joe and educators and authors Verna Kirkness and Freda Ahenakew, who couldn't attend the conference had their comments on the issues videotaped ahead of time so they could share their views with participants.

The goals of the conference, explained Jeannette Armstrong, renowned author and executive director of the En'owkin Centre, included creating a venue for writers and storytellers working in Aboriginal languages to meet and talk about perspectives and approaches to writing and the literary issues that come with writing in original languages. Participants also talked about what supports currently exist to help writers, storytellers and performers working in Aboriginal languages, what further supports are needed, and what supports can be provided by the Indigenous community.

Those attending the conference also had a chance to discuss ways of getting funding agencies on board with the idea that efforts to preserve original languages and promote their usage have to take place both within and without the classroom.

"How do we get these agencies to make the link that language retention and revitalization isn't just about lesson plans and curriculum? You have to have books and you have to have all kinds of active use of the language. And we think literature for children, literature for people, stories, theatre, storytelling, actively going on, enhances and increases the everyday use of original languages and also increases the focus on original languages in terms of appreciation," Armstrong said.

"I mean, if we were restricted to hearing English in the classroom, there wouldn't be very many English speakers in terms of everyday usage. So it's the same thing. If there's a real commitment toward revitalization of our language there has to be commitment to its everyday use and the access to its everyday use."

That access would need to be provided through having Aboriginal languages represented not only in books and plays, but also on the radio and television and in newspapers, she said.

One of conference presenters was David Walden, secretary-general of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), who talked about the United Nation's perspective that Aboriginal people have a right to their original languages and that the responsibility to protect that right lies not just with Aboriginal people, but with all of Canada.

"So therefore, we have a huge responsibility to make people aware that it isn't just a moral or ethical right or responsibility. That there is a human rights aspect to this and that the human rights aspect to it is being ignored by the political will of the country, and therefore by the agencies that serve that political will," Armstrong said.

In order for the political will to change in favor of protection and promotion of original languages, writers, storytellers and performers have to work to get the message across that those languages are not just a cultural right, but also a human right, she explained.

Armstrong feels writers who produce their work in an Aboriginal language have much to offer to Canadian literature, something thatwould be lost if these works were created in English instead.

"I believe that there's a vast, non-tapped literary canon out there that resides specifically in original language," she said. "I mean, if you're writing in English, some of that carries over. Some of the use of what we call Rez-English or Red-English or transition English or northern English or whatever, carries over in some of the expressions and idioms, use of metaphor and so on, carries over into English. But if you were to take a work that was written in the original language and then you looked at the interpretation and the translation of that, or the transliteration of that, you have a much different work than you do if I started out in English because I'm writing in English. And so to me the literary aspects of that are really exciting in terms of adding to the canon of literature that is Canada. So my contention is that the arts need to support that. We can't lose that. And those Aboriginal and original literatures are thousands of years in the making. They're not something that sprang up out of nowhere. And they need some attention, not as cultural artifact but as current literature. And exciting, new, post-colonialist, post-modern literature at that."