language oe ndangered Tsimshian people want to bring Sm’algyax back from the brink of extinction: ESIDENTIAL schools were one of the culprits responsible for the demise of the Tsimshian lan- guage, but it is the education sys- tem that will help rejuvenate it. The survival of the language was on the tip of everyone’s tongue during the Strengthening the Tsimshian Language conference held in Prince Rupert in the beginning of last month. “Basically we talked about where we were, where we are and where we're going,’ said Tsimshian Tribal Council director Ric Miller. Residential schools where only one amongst the many reasons for the near loss of the lan- guage. ‘*There was a whole proliferation of aspects,” sald Miller. “Mixing with European culture was the demise of the language,’’ It is through the cooperation of a different d- ucation system that the Tsimshian people will revitalize their language. _ °For over 30 years, Dr. John Dunn bas been - working with the Tsimshian people to develop a dictionary and grammar book. “Punishing people for using Sm’algyax was part of the problem for the loss of the language said Dunn. But today, the inundation of radio and televi-, sion, there are less opportunities for people to hear the language spoken. Miller praises the extensive work that Dunn has done. He's bringing his linguistic expertise and passion and has helped us re-patriate our lan- guage,” said Miller. “It’s absolutely necessary to preserve the lan- guage — no culture has survived without a lan- guage,”’ Miller added that Sm’algyax is third on a list of endangered North American aboriginal languages. Miller also said that of the 10,000 Tsimshian people, not more than approximately 175 are fluent, and mast of them are elders.., , _ | There were, a, number, of, different sessions... during, .the conference, ranging from research © and archiving to new school curriculum. Students at school district 52 in Prince Rupert will now. have the choice of taking Sm’algyax as a Second language as opposed to French this fall. Terrace students from grades five to cight will also have the choice to implement Sm’algyax Stories by Salwa Farah THE FIRST NATIONS resource centre offers teachers and students a wide variety of material from legends to current affairs. Linda Pitre demonstrates the multi-media CD- ROM about the Tsimshian nation entitled Tsimshian from Time !mmemoarial. Sm’algyax fs third on a list of endangered North American na- tive languages. Of the 10,000 Tsimshian people, not more than approximately 175 are fluent, and most of them are elders. into their classrooms as a second language op- tion. ‘This school district is representative of many first nations people,’’ said Barbara Toye- Welsh, principle of First Nations Education at Clarence Michiel elementary. Toye-Welsh explained that it is the request of - the parents that determined which language is taught in school, so it could possibly. be Sm/algyax or a Nisga’a language. There were 22 resolutions passed during the * décessibility to’ working peoplé by titroduciig’” = night classes. Part of this initiative will be a Tuesday eve- ning class to be held at the North West Com- munity College in Terrace. Mildred Roberts, a member of the Kitsum- kalum band council with the aid of linguist Em- mon Bach will be conducting first and second level Sm’algyax classes. The First Nations Resource Centre also has an extensive collection of material ranging from legends and collected oral history to a CD ROM dictionary produced by the Tsimshian Nation. The centre opened in October and to date has 925 items available. One of the biggest challenges facing the Tsim- shian people is getting the message into the home. “Most parents are only functional im the Jan- guage,’’ said Miller, adding that it’s important to bring children and elders together to transfer the knowledge. Miller is optimistic about the survival of the language. “Tf we keep pushing it, it will survive,’’ he said, adding that Sm’algyax is a beautiful and sophisticated language. Mildred Roberts was rcluctant to embrace that | same optimism. “We didn’t have a T.V.,"" said Roberts, . 2 When: we ‘got home we were able to explore. . iron we'd 'leam to'do things like. maké bread." _ " “Nobody seems to have time now lo teach the children,”’? Roberts added, stressing that bring- ing the language into the homes i is essential to its survival. Roberts made a quick count of the number of Sn’algyax speakers on her street and sadly, less than half the residents are fluent. Memories 5 give teacher strength Once punished, now paid for using language THERE WAS A IF prize for spending ’ the most time after school, then Mildred Roberts feels that she should have gotten it. For every Sm’algyax word spoken — the language of the Tsimshian —— Roberis had to stay an extra five minutes after school as a form of punishment. “‘T learned how to spell ‘I will not speak Indian’ in school. I “thought that was all I had to know,” Roberis laughs, reminiscing about her experi- ence at school as a young girl. Needless to say, English has not come naturally for Roberts. Growing up around Port Essing- ton, Roberts’ family moved with the tides, following the halibut and going where the work was. “We lived in a place where you had to stand on a rock and listen to the sea, to the big sound of t¥e waves to know when the storms are coming,’’ said Roberts. In -1963, in search of work, her family moved to the Kitsumkalum reserve. That's when her sporadic school- ing ‘began and finally ended at grade four. A. lot of Roberts’ schooling in- volved sitting in class and listening to a foreign languege and not un- derstanding a word. Now, she would love to take all the school authorities of that time and speak to them in Sm’algyx and see how inadequate they feel. But instead, Roberts will be teaching first and second level Smalgyax at the North West Com- PUNISHMENT FOR speaking her own language fr in school has oniy strengthened Mildred Roberts determination to preserve the Tsim- shian language. Roberts will be teaching Sm’algyax this fall in Ter- race at the North West Community College. living will be lost with the words thal describe them. The program is sponsored by the University of Northern British Columbia. Emmon Bach, a_ linguist at UNBC, will also be teaching with Roberts and will be responsible for teaching the reading and writing element of the program. “He'll be doing the written work and I'll be teaching the language — the proper sounds and pronuncia- tion,’’ like the real old language — f speak a broken English and a broken Indian,’’ Roberts said, ad- ding that you have to start people off with simple words at first. While there are variations in the dialect between bands, they are only minimal. ‘One word can be used in many different ways, so its hard to try and fearn,’? Roberts explained about how sometimes the context of the word determined its mean- ing. The university credited course has been offered in Prince Rupert before, but this is the first time it will be offered in Terrace. "It’s hard to find anybody to use the language with, Even then, [ start off using Sm’algyax then go to English — some words [7m starting to forget,’’ said Roberts who finds less and less people who speak Sin ‘algyax in her community. Because of the difficulty that Roberts had learning English, she “made sure her children learned it right away. “Nobody seems to have time naw to teach the children,”’ said Roberts “T used to go everywhere with my grandmother and she'd be tell- ing me stories,”’ “Tl always thought that my chil- dren missed a really good life,'’ she “Some things I don't even know, | munity College this fall. The program will appeal to . learners of all stages — from -elders: who would like to. learn to read ‘and write, to those who can understand the language but can’t pronounce the words and to begin- ° ning learners. “Hopefully this will help preserve lhe language — its good to get even one person from the family,”’ said Roberts. “Culture is language, the food you eat, the way you live,” she stressed the importance of presery- ing the language to insure the sur- vival of the culture. She fears the traditional ways of added, even though it was a hard life, it was a none the less a rich one. Roberts is currently in Victoria on a UNBC sponsored educational trip in preparation for the fatl class, enue tennant inden anmamaereigtine atamemmmaanarmesater tao: Bigs nog rete tomne SE TREE The Terrace Standard, Wednesday. July 9, 1997 - AS CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag We're nct meddling Dear Sir: Dear Sirs City council is being criticized for being concerned about the state of hospital services in our community. The Community Health Council accuses us of med- dling in an area that is none of our business, and our MLA suggests we should find better things to do with our time. Not only is it our business to be concerned about a community service as imporlant as hospital care, as elected representatives of the people we have a respon- sibility to try to do something about this service when we see that it is in trouble. The Community Health Council and our MLA are trying to say we don’t have any serious problems at the hospital. When a budget has to be adopted that allows for only 25 beds occupied on average when most of the time there are close to this number of patients and for a con- siderable proportion of the time there are more than this, I’d say our hospital service is in serious jeopardy. I'd also say we have a real problem when this same budget can only be met by making provision for patients to be sent elsewhere for treatment simply to balance our own hospital’s budget. Some people may wish to pictend we don’t have a problem so they don’t have to do anything to try to solve it. As an elected member of the community, I’m not prepared to sit back and do nothing when I see deterioration of a service as important to the well-being of the community as hospital care. And I’m sure I speak for my colleagues on council when I say this. Val George councillor City of Terrace Councillors out of line Dear Sir: The comments of city council regarding the composi- tion of the Community Health Council are not accurate. The members of this council are not appointed by the MLA, they are recommended by the MLA and ap- pointed by the Cabinet. The members of the current Council are not new ap- pointecs, but rather they are all re-appointments, done so because of their commitment to health care. These members are not all friends and associates of Mr. Giesbrecht, as he is more broad-minded than that. Les Watmough Terrace, B.C. Tolerance as a weapon Dear Sir: If there is one word that bas been used repeatedly in - the recent debate surrounding {he issue of homosexual curriculum ilis the word ‘‘tolerance’’, I am beginning to wonder if the people using it as their batile cry actually know what the word means. What I do know is all the parents who have organized the community forum on ‘‘Issues in Homosexuality” *€ “support, not ‘only ‘lolérance and acceptance of gays as ‘TPeoplé; but eVéh love for them as people. - But there is a difference between tolerating or accept- ing people and tolerating or accepting certain sexual acts and sexual lifestyles as morally right. I will lave and accept homosexvals but I cannot ac- - cept the homosexual lifestyle as being morally right, nor do E want my children to be taught that it is, nor do I believe it is the government's place to tell me or my children what to believe or whal should be spoken in moral issues. Those who are promoting the move toward this homosexual curriculum, (tie NDP government, the BCTF, the Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC (GALE), the Gay community and the Minister of Education, Paul Ramsey) would like the word “‘tolerance”’ to be the defining word in the debate. Ironically, they've been using the word “‘tolerance”’ in a an injurious way, even as a club to beat down, marginalize, stereotype and silence parents or other citizens who have tried to express their concerns or opposition to this curriculum. These are given the label “‘intolerant’’ and are said to be promoting “‘intolerance’’ by even addressing the is- sue publicly, Parents who have attempted to exercise their legal rights to assemble to listen to another per- spective or their legal right to determine whether or not they want their children taught homosexual issues in public schools are dismissed with such damaging and hurtful labels as ‘‘homophobes’’, ‘‘bigots’’, ‘‘gay- bashers”’. Is this their definition of ‘“‘tolerance’’? Even Paul Ramsey, the NDP Minister of Education, -afler being invited to attend a similar informational meeting in Prince George so that he could have a chance to here the concerns of parents, chase to take part in a gay counter-demonstration of the event, prompting the citizens of his riding to take actions to recall him as their representative in the legislature. When I invited our MLA Helmut Giesbrecht to at- tend the informational meeting in Terrace on June 16th, he showed his disdain for the concerned parents of his constituency and his ignorance of what it is that really concerns us, by saying that he wouldn’t attend because he believes that our meeting promotes ‘‘intolerance’’, How does he even know what our perspectives or con- cerns are, or, if they will or will not produce “intokerance’’ if he won't even listen to them? Are we to believe that the NDP government has the ability to address issues of tolerance or homosexuality in our schools and society in an unbiased way when their MLAs refuse invitations to attend meetings to hear the perspectives of their own constituents on the issue and have obviously have taken a completely one- sided approach to the issuc? How are we to believe that the goal of the NDP, BCTF, GALE and the Gay lobby is actually “tolerance” at all and not simply the forceful advance- ment of the homosexual political agenda, when they will not “tolerate” any perspective but their own being expressed in society? I publicly implore Mr. Giesbrecht, one last time to at- tend the June 16 forum. Please hear us out so that you can make informed decisions on this issue. Mike Rosenau, Terrace chapter Active Citizens of B.C., Letters welcomed The Terrace Standard weicomes letters to the editor, Our mailing address Is 3210 Cilnton St, Terrace, B.C., V8G 5A2. You can also fax us "at 250-638-6432, And you can e-mail us at standard@kermode.net . Soa er be nee