a een er, ee, ee ee ee ee, eee i _Ferracy Standard, Wednesday, February 20, 1991 — Page AS TERRACE — Native Indian.” languages in northwestern: B.C. are dying out.» ‘That’s. the agreed opinion of fesearchers ‘at the: Univer- . sity of BC; who have studied native languages ‘in this region, ’ fessor Dale Kinkade. '‘The , Nisga’a ~danguages have been main- ~ tained better, but they're also an decline.’’ are heard in the streets of Terrace, because the city is tional territories of all three | groups. * Coast Tsimshian is spoken - by members of Terrace’s ‘local Kitsumkalum and : Kitselas'-bands, as well as ‘ bands around Prince Rupert. “The number of fluent speakers of Coast Tsimshian a “is already fairly low down," ~ £2¥8. UBC linguistics pro-- - and Gitksan.. _All three native languages- : on the borders of the tradi- .... Profs | Say Tsimshian, | ‘Nisga’a lan Nisga'a is the language of the natives to the north in the ~ Nass River valley, while most Hazeltons- “area bands: ‘speak Gitksan. - “Those - languages _ ' Nisga’a-Gitksan and Coast Tsimshian — just aren't go- ing to survive,” predicts. . - He refers to the languages _ of the Nisga’a and Gitksan as basically the same language, although the native groups claim they’re different. “They talk about two languages for political] reasons, but they’re mutually | intelligible.*’ Tsimshian is entirely distinct from the other two, and is also considered the Kinkade . Closest to extinction. “The Coast Tsimshian language probably won’t last 50 years — if that. The others at the most 100: years,’ Kinkade says, “It depends. They could g0 a lot faster than that _ it’ s hard to say,”’ UBC anthropology pro- fessor Jay Powell, who has studied the language of the . Gitksan bands to the east, - agrees that northwest aboriginal languages are in serious trouble. , “There's been a decline in the number of Gitksan- ~ speaking children entering kindergarten,"' he said. “Very few Gitksan kids now enter school speaking their own language.’’ In just a little more than a century, English has swept through the northwest with such force that researchers like Kinkead and Powell sée little prospect for a com- eback of native languages. The dominant culture in North America is English," Kinkade says. '‘Virtually everything revolves around English and it’s difficult to maintain any native language in the face of that.” He said efforts to compile dictionaries and books, and to teach natives their language in half-hour weekly sessions have largely Failed, ‘‘Programs to teach children the language after : =. they! ve ‘grown up speaking ‘English just haven't been Particularly successful," he guages doomed ~ wherever possible outside of '. Students 20 minutes a day of . their language hasn’t warked - says. “'T applaud the efforts, but I don’t think they'll suc- ceed,”’ ‘To Powell; immersion is the only answer. Children must go to school, take most of their classes in the native language and make speak: it school. “The idea. of giving anywhere,” he says. Natives must take steps to ensure the language gets used more, he adds. ‘It's not enough if it gets used at feasts,”’ Powell says, ** Communities have to take the initiative, and the people have to Support these com- munity initiatives. Get bumper stickers and street signs in the native language,” FIGHTING F FOR WOR RO Local elder watches her language vanish § "Stories by JEFF NAGEL TERRACE — Language and culture is at the core of being for Vera Henry. The 65-year-old Tsimshian elder of the Kitsumkalum band says the survival of the culture of Terrace’s two Tsimshian- speaking bands depends on their youth. “Go to your elders and speak your language, that's what I always advise our young people,”’ she says. “Know your traditions, your. Tsimshian traditions. If you don’t know your Tsimshian traditions, you're a lost Tsimshian.” “t's. getting fost. | don't hear any children was her first signal her language was unwelcome in the English culture. “When I was I child going to school in Kitselas, my cousin couldn*t understand the teacher, I was sitting nearby so I translated the question. The teacher right away told me to go stand in the corner.” When she went home that day, her father asked her what she learned in school. “I told him today | learned how to wear a dunce eap."’ Henry’s angry parents went to the school to confront the teacher and demand such in- cidents not happen again. “They came home and told me to never use my language in school again,’’ she recalls. “That was the first time I really running arourde-tye—5 realized we weren't supposed to Streets © language any ’ more. They used to, but not any-more." Not many fluent speakers of their.. language called Sm’Algyax — are left, she says, maybe a couple dozen. “It’s getting lost. I don’t hear: any children running around the streets using the language any more. They used to, but not any more."* Henry says the younger generation must keep up the language, or it will disappear forever. “I speak it. My husband speaks it. But our children ‘don't;”’ she says. ‘*They can hear it and they can use some of ‘it, but they mix it with English.’* Teaching the language to school-age children who haven’t learned it.from birth is extreme- ly difficult, she adds. . “They're trying hard to learn English and keep up with their ‘ other studies in school,’’ she says. ‘‘When they get home they _don't want to be confused with our language.” ‘enry remembers an incident as an eight-year-old girl that TERRACE. — A local native support. group says immediate action is needed to preserve nor- thwest native languages and to increase education oppor- tunities for area natives, ‘1 think our native people are beginning to realize our native culture is ‘really important to us,’ says Sadie Pamell, a frog clan ‘Nisga’a ‘and executive director of Terrace’'s Kermode . Friendship Society. “‘I've seen people who don’t know what their people are, where they are from, what clan they belong to or what their roots are."’ ; “And [ve also seen some people rediscover their roots. When that happens it's like finally finding a home,” Parnell says creating a native. '~ Janguages lab-in -Terracé could “help combat. the problem of disappearing ‘native Janguayes. “We're just: getting: the . material : together - — it’s still'In -. the: “developinantal mages,” ‘using: “ithe! speak our,Janguage in school,”’ She says. other local natives, including Kitsumkalum band chief Cliff Bolton, were sent away to residential schools and faced an even tougher struggle to hang onto their language. Few of her own children have learned to speak Tsimshian fluently, “They were taught to speak English all the time in school,” she recalls. ‘‘And when we spoke our language at home, they didn’t: want to listen, Because they wanted to speak English. They were trying to keep up with their studies in school and they didn’t want to be confused by our language.” **And I know for a fact the other families are the same way, That’s why the language is disappearing — because it’s not used. But [ always have hope.” Henry says other factors also come into play. She notes the local bands haven’! kept up their traditions and feasting system as well as their Nisga’a’ and Gitksan neighbours to the north and east. “I feel sad when I think aboot it that our language is get- ting lost,’’ she reflects, ‘"You can’t really know yourself if you don’t know your language.”’ ction neede Parnell said of the Kermode Friendship Centre's hopes to start a native education centre. She said the friendship centre is examining a generic native languages curriculum created by a band in the Okanagan. It’s ex- pected to become a cornerstone of their plans for a language teaching centre of their own, “We'll be taking it further ) LETTERS, KITSUMRALOM ELDER Vera rianry examines a Tsimshion lang researchers more than 10 years ago. She hopes it will be use keep her language from dying out. guage dictionary compiled by inguisticg d in local schools someday in an effort to Henry said the groundwork has been laid for a revival of the language — all that’s needed is people | to teach it and a will- ingness of local natives to learn. A phonetic dictionary of the Tsimshian language was com- piled 10 years ago, along with a companion volume outlining grammar usage, *‘Any teacher can teach this in school,’’ she says, hefting the two binders, “Even a non- native teacher who doesn’t speak Tsimshian can teach this, I hope it’s going to be used and noi just left to collect dust on a shelf." d, native group says Wee Haisla and Gitksan languages of the surrounding tribal groups also live here. Developing a centre would be -@n Opportunity to pull nrea natives back together, she said. “There's hardly anyone eft that can speak the languages fluently,” she says. ‘I don't speak it fluently anymore. I can understand it, but 1 don’t speak “It's really ‘hard. To look at the overwhelming. So would be totally whole prablem we try to just take it one small step ata time — it’s all we can real- ly do.” | and adapting it to the local languages,*’ Parnell said. But she said a final decision hasn't been made on what native languages would be taught at. such a centre. The most spoken native language in Terrace is Tsimshlan. — ‘the language of the local ‘Kit-- sumkalum and Kitseleg bands ©’ ot ul: native People ‘sptaking : it fluently .”" : “And while trying to keep a grip on the culture and language Is important, she said most natives here have more pressing concerns. -“Bvyerybody"’s number one Priority is just to get by, 1 don't know if learning the language Is a: ‘priority for a lot of people who are just trying to survive." From that point of view, she said, there’s just as great a need for a basic literacy program here to bring illiterate adults up to a basic Grade 6 reading level in English. “1 still meet people every day who absolutely cannot read or write,’” Parnell explained. ‘Our office staff must read their let- ters to them. It’s a real problem,” “It's sad to say, but we have a lot of native people living in poverty in this city. Times are hard and people are just trying to survive." A native education centre in Terrace would focus on the need for both basic literacy and native languages. She said she wants such courses to be ac- credited with Northwest Com- munity College, so participants could later transfer into NWCC's Adult Basic Educa- tion (ABE) program. “It’s really hard, To look at Sadie Parnell the whole problem would be totally overwhelming. So we try’ to just take it one small step at a time — it’s all we can really do.” : _ TO THE TERRACE STANDARD Dear Sir: The blame and bitterness toward Canadians was quite apparent in-Mr. Mulroney’s Address to the Nation on Dec, 30, 1990, in regards to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. His repeated statement “We had it signed’, by himself and the, at that time, First Ministers, which was re- jected by Canadians, clearly shows that it (the Record), | was, and still is, indelibly im- printed on his mind. His laudable pro- nouncements, of, for, and by Canadians, while he had slithered off to Great Britain for approval to stack the conservative minority Senate on the GST issue, certainly show what his vision of Canada entails. The super-duper economic trade deal with the U.S., then taxing us on it, is another vi- sion of Canada that Mr. Mulroney and his cohorts see as glad tidings for the future. The skepticism, disen- chantment, confusion and distrust of our political leaders, parties, and institu- tions are on the brink of ero- sion, The constant bickering, splits, schisms, etc, within both the provincial and federal levels of government, shows that there may be no relief in sight in the near future. (At least not until the next election. Maybe.) And here lies a huge and, I think, positive challenge, Not since Confederation has there been promise and an opportunity, with some light at the end of the tunnel, to literally, change the face of ‘| Canada ‘and Canadians: ;! <: The -failure of the Accord {- is, I think, more far reaching than one could imagine. Literally, it shows where, with acute explicity, all of our strengths and weaknesses lie. From constitutional issues, fiscal matters, inter- national affairs, etc., we know what lies before us and what solutions are required. - For, in my view, literally, no one can say ‘‘J have no opinion”, and if we didn’t have one, the Accord would not have failed. We would truly be in dire straits. Norm Lavallee Terrace, B.C, | Centre defence Dear Sir: This letter is in the defence of the correctional centre. Is the only reason for not having a correctional facility in Thornhill as in another case Marshall St., on the bench in Terrace, that pro- perty values will go down? People should be more informed before such a state- ment is made. 1 live on Halliwell and Munroe and I for one have no problem with a correc- tional facility being built in my neighbourhood. @ did not sign the petition cir- culating in my neighbourhood because 1 didn’t agree with it.) The corrections branch in Terrace runs a small sawmill- ing operation that makes them self sufficient, They do not depend on the govern- ment for handouts. They clean up. after themselves in the bush which is more than I can say for our local logging companies and don’t house axe murderers, rapists or Uzi-toting psychos. At present, they are over- | crowded, ‘both in housing. and sawmilling operations. — cont'd AB