Wednesday, December 16, 2015
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Kwak’wala course offered
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Courtenay,” Child said. “It would be great to have artists, storytellers and a wide range of community members join us to strengthen the cultural connections.” The class takes place Wednesday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. starting Jan. 4 at the Sacred Wolf Friendship Centre. It is one of three courses with Indigenous content offered in the region this January, including First Peoples Literature
and Composition course (ENG 096) and Composition and Indigenous Literature I (ENG 125). Students may also be interested in NIC’s new Aboriginal education assistant program starting in January at the Port Hardy campus. For more information about programs, courses, and funding support for NIC courses, visit www.nic.bc.ca/mw or contact NIC Student Services directly at 250-949-7912.
McNeill department looking for new firefighters
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Instructor Sara Child has developed an Introduction to Kwak’wala course being offered in Port Hardy in January.
NEW YEARS EVE The Rock
D: LIVE BAN
By Tyson Whitney Reporter The Port McNeill Volunteer Fire Department is currently looking for new members. “We are always recruiting,” said Fire Chief, Tasos Baroutis at the Port McNeill Town Council meeting Dec. 7. The department, currently has 19 members. Baroutis also stated in his report to Council that the department has recently replaced their safety gear, and resumed training.
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estimated 2.3 per cent of Kwakwaka’wakw people speak the language fluently, while 10.6 per cent of the population are learning it. Child sees an urgent role for youth and adults who play a vital role in keeping the language and culture alive in communities. “This isn’t about our children learning Kwak’wala in class for 30 minutes a day and expecting them to become fluent,” she said. “If we are going to talk about language acquisition for future generations, language and culture need to be intertwined and the whole community needs to learn it together. When youth and adults become language learners, that’s when it’s going to come to life.” NIC’s Introduction to Kwak’wala course focuses on immersive learning. Students will practise listening and speaking, with emphasis on conversation, structure and pronunciation. The course is designed for all learners from high school students to professionals, parents and elders in the community who want to learn more about the Kwak’wala language and culture. Adult students working toward their high school graduation can also apply the course toward their BC adult graduation diploma. “I know there is interest from nurses and professionals here as well as from people as far south as
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Gazette staff In the new year, North Island College will be holding its first-ever Kwak’wala Language Course at the Sacred Wolf Friendship Centre in Port Hardy. NIC will offer the course thanks, in part, to a T’saxis (Fort Rupert) resident. NIC instructor Sara Child developed the Introduction to Kwak’wala course a year ago to bring the language to life in the community. “Despite our efforts to increase language learning in elementary schools, our youth and adults don’t have many opportunities to learn from fluent Kwak’wala speakers. Language revitalization needs to draw on people of all ages in the community to succeed. I’m very grateful NIC approved the course this April and embraced this opportunity,” said Child. The Kwak’wala language is spoken in several different dialects in 15 First Nations’ communities from the K’omoks First Nation in the south to the Tlatlasikwala First Nation on the northern end of Vancouver Island as well as in communities on the central BC coast. Child will bring elders and Kwak’wala speakers of many of those different dialects into the class to respect people and cultures of individual communities. “I can speak the language a bit, but I’m far from fluent,” said Child, a Kwakiutl Nation member who is working toward her Masters of Indigenous Language Revitalization degree at the University of Victoria and coordinated UVic’s Bachelor of Education degree last year. “Drawing from the knowledge of our elders is the only way we can respectfully deliver this course,” she said. In 2014, the Report on the Status of BC First Nations Languages
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