Students at the University of Manitoba (U of M) have launched a campaign lobbying Canadian universities to create official degrees and diplomas in Indigenous languages.
Noah Wilson, the co-president of the Aboriginal Students Association at the U of M, is leading the ReconciliACTION Campaign which was launched last month.
He said the campaign is about “acknowledging the truth and legacies of the residential school system” and to ensure that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action are implemented, specifically recommendation number 16.
According to the TRC’s website, recommendation number 16 is: “We call upon post-secondary institutions to create university and college degree and diploma programs in Aboriginal languages.”
“Why [are] there fully recognized majors and degrees in French, Spanish, and other languages widely available across Canadian universities, when Indigenous language majors are almost non-existent or few and far between?” Wilson said.
He said in partnership with the National Centre on Truth and Reconciliation (NRTC) and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), they plan on launching a national campaign in May with the Circles of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students.
“The NCTR will help us train ReconciliACTION working group facilitators who then use CFS’s networks to implement these ReconciliACTION campaigns and working groups at every university campus across Canada,” he said.
He said that the U of M has officially created a full tenure position for an Indigenous languages professor and has made a posting for the position.
According to Universities Canada website, there are currently over 30 Indigenous languages being taught at universities across the country.
Currently, Lakehead University offers a minor in Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin) and Cree (Inin”mowin) languages and their dialects.
Wilson said he believes that creating a provincially recognized degree in an Indigenous language is a long process that would require several steps taken by the faculty and the administration.
“But, there are steps that can be taken in the meantime, including the creation of Indigenous language courses, offering majors and minors specifically within the Native Studies stream with a focus on languages and finally, lobbying faculty, administration, and provincial governments to recognize these degrees,” he said.
