In Budget 2018, the British Columbia government makes a transformative investment in the restoration of Indigenous languages. Our province is the most linguistically diverse in Canada and many Indigenous languages have been lost or are near extinction. Reconnecting to language is a critical step forward in reconciliation.
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When my grandparents were forced from their homes as young children and into residential schools, one of the primary goals of that school was to strip them of their language. They were punished for speaking their language, to the point that they felt shame when they uttered the words that had been used to describe this land, the language of their S¸ELELW̱ÁÁN . Banning Indigenous languages was a critical part of the strategy of past governments. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it was an essential feature in advancing cultural genocide.
My grandparents never completely forgot their language. My grandfather, Ernie Olsen, and a handful of others from Saanich worked closely with the University of Victoria to preserve our language — SENĆOŦEN. Like many Indigenous languages in British Columbia, SENĆOŦEN was nearly extinct.
So it is in the honour of my grandparents that I stand in this House and acknowledge the transformative commitments across government to improve Indigenous relations. Indeed, we are at a critical moment in time. This government is advancing this transformation in this budget. This budget makes a historic $50 million investment that supports Indigenous communities to revitalize connections to our Indigenous languages. This is truly a historic commitment. It honours the work of my grandparents to remember what was not beaten from them.
I can’t imagine Telquilam and Panachwould have imagined their children and nieces and nephews reversing the course as they have. Now their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are speaking the words of their S¸ELELW̱ÁÁN, the words they painstakingly preserved for them. As they fought the demons of their past — the abuse, the degradation, the humiliation — they left our children a precious gift, the gift of the beautiful world view locked in linguistic limbo for more than a generation.
ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ is “a place of refuge.” This is the name of the sacred mountain of the WSÁNEĆ people, and it was given to our school on West Saanich Road. The mountain is the place where we tied our canoes in the great flood.
Our language is reborn
The school is home to one of the most successful Indigenous language revitalization programs in our province. ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ is once again a place of refuge — for all our children, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. It is the passion of my blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl, who had the benefit of a preschool SENĆOŦEN immersion program and is soon to take it up again in grade one; her equally blonde brother at Brentwood Elementary; and their cousin at Bayside Middle School. Our language is reborn.
It is with this in mind that I raise my hands to this government. As you will note, I believe the restoration of Indigenous language is the most substantial step we take so far in our journey of reconciliation. That is not to cast shade on the $200 million investment in other much-needed programs and services.
i think its a move forward the gov,t funding to preserve our languages. now its time for the churches to step up just as equally or even more.