WKSITNUOW WEJKWAPNIAQEWA - MI'KMAQ: A VOICE FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE DAWN

ABSTRACT. Mi'kmaq is a First Nations language spoken in Atlantic Canada and the north-eastern United States -- and like most surviving indigenous languages in North America, it is at risk. The small community of Wagmatcook, Cape Breton, determined to see Mi'kmaq return from the brink of ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Smith, Donna-Lee, Peck, Josephine
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill 2004
Subjects:
Online Access:https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/8760
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT. Mi'kmaq is a First Nations language spoken in Atlantic Canada and the north-eastern United States -- and like most surviving indigenous languages in North America, it is at risk. The small community of Wagmatcook, Cape Breton, determined to see Mi'kmaq return from the brink of extinction, has implemented two initiatives that are changing the fate of their language. In the first initiative teachers, day care workers and community members completed a Certificate in Aboriginal Literacy Education. The participants in this program upgraded their skills in reading, writing and speaking Mi'kmaq. As a follow-up initiative, many of these same participants completed a series of workshops to develop books written in Mi'kmaq targeted for pre-K to grade 3. Because Mi'kmaq is an oral culture and language, there are not many texts available for teachers to use in the "Mi'kmaq as the language of instruction" classrooms. To help overcome this shortage, a group of graduates from the literacy program worked with a language consultant to write a series of children's books. These books are age and reading level specifie and thematic. WKSITNUOW WEJKWAPNIAQEWA - MI'KMAQ : UNE VOIX DU PEUPLE DE L'AURORE RÉSUMÉ. Le mi'kmaq est une langue des Premières nations parlée dans le Canada atlantique et le nord-est des Etats-Unis - et comme la plupart des langues autochtones qui ont subsisté en Amérique du Nord, elle est menacée de disparaître. La petite collectivité de Wagmatcook, au Cap-Breton, déterminée à voir le mi'kmaq échapper au gouffre de l'extinction, a mis en oeuvre deux projets qui changent la destinée de leur langue. Dans le premier projet, les enseignants, les travailleurs des centres de jour et les membres de la collectivité ont suivi un cours menant à un certificat à apprendre le mi'kmaq. Les participants à ce programme ont développé leurs aptitudes à lire, à écrire et à parler la langue. Comme projet de suivi, bon nombre de ces mêmes participants ont pris part à une série des ateliers où ils ont conçu livres en mi'kmaq ...