Activity 2.5 | Culturally Responsive Practices

The First Peoples' Principles of Learning describe a set of learning principles specific to the First Peoples. These principles were articulated by Indigenous Elders, scholars and knowledge keepers to guide curriculum development.

Language Revitalization

"When we learn Indigenous languages, it's a way of saying, 'We recognize that you're here, we respect you, we think your languages are important and so are you. And we want to work together to change things.”

- Sara McDowell

Sara McDowell addressed how non-Indigenous people can best support First Nations language revitalization in her master's thesis at the University of Toronto (2024). 

Read the following two articles: (1) "They're not Indigenous — but they're learning Indigenous languages | CBC Radio", and (2) 'Our language is still here': Revitalizing Indigenous languages in the North | CBC News to consider this more deeply. 

References

CBC News. (2021, September 24). 'Our language is still here': Revitalizing Indigenous languages in the North. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/indigenous-language-revitalization-north-1.6185911

CBC Radio. (2021, September 24). They're not Indigenous — but they're learning Indigenous languages. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/they-re-not-indigenous-but-they-re-learning-indigenous-languages-1.6185911

First Nations Education Steering Committee. (n.d.). First Peoples Principles of Learning. https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

McDowell, S. G. (2024). Revitalizing Indigenous languages in Toronto: The responsibilities and potential roles of non-Indigenous peoples (Master's thesis, University of Toronto). https://hdl.handle.net/1807/138331