Online learning offered for Indigenous languages

Inner-city students and their families are getting more options and flexibility to study Indigenous languages.

The Winnipeg School Division is testing out a new model to reach more residents with its free evening classes this winter.

“After COVID, we said, ‘If teaching online worked, why not try this?’” said Rob Riel, assistant superintendent of Indigenous education. “We’re finally getting around to it.”

Indigenous language teachers have moved around to different schools in the past to run a series of beginner, in-person lessons for community members of all kinds.

This term, live lessons — both in Ininiw (Cree) and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwa) — will be broadcast to schools and anyone who wants to tune in from home.

A dozen schools will host satellite classrooms for the classes over the next two months.

Facilitated by administrators and community support workers, these sites will screen real-time lessons, feed participants and encourage them to practise new phrases with one another.

“We’re trying to accommodate and make it as accessible as possible,” Riel said.

He said the program is rebuilding in the wake of pandemic-related disruptions that affected family routines and comfort levels in public settings.

The upcoming pilot includes Niji Mahkwa, Kent Road, River Elm, Shaughnessy Park, Isaac Newton, Lord Selkirk, Garden Grove, Victoria-Albert, General Wolfe and Isaac Brock elementary schools. Elmwood and St. John’s are the two high school hosts.

Michif has also been added to the list of free courses, although it will only be available in person at R.B. Russell Vocational High School.

Carmen Smith, whose first language is Cree, will be teaching remotely from Sisler High School — her home base as an Indigenous graduation coach.

Smith begins her in-person classes with a smudge, a practice she said she hopes will continue in all host schools.

“Feeding our spirit by smudging opens up our hearts, our minds,” said the teacher who is originally from Chemawawin Cree Nation.

Her introductory course dives into a sound chart, as well as numbers, weekdays, animals and “words (students) can use at home.” Repetition is critical to build a beginner speaker’s confidence, she said.

Smith said it was satisfying to watch her students’ confidence and pronunciation improve throughout a fall session.

There were 12 to 15 people for every class, she said, noting that people of all ages — including a toddler, teenagers and multiple teachers — attended.

“They shared that they wanted to learn who they are, where they come from and starting to learn the basic language would help them,” Smith said.

Her next seven-week course begins Feb. 11, which is also the launch of the next round of Ojibwa and Michif programs.

The online and in-person classes are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays.

“Offering Indigenous language classes ignites the spirit of the language in the learners. It becomes a spiritual learning journey,” said Desi-Rae Anderson, service director of Indigenous education for the Winnipeg School Division.

These introductory lessons help Indigenous youth learn more about themselves and engage their families, Anderson said.

A member of Pinaymootang First Nation, she was raised by a mother who is fluent in Ojibwa. Anderson considers herself a “language learner.”

Roughly 30 per cent of WSD’s student population identifies as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.

Only a fraction of its 31,000 registrants speak an Indigenous language at home, according to its latest demographic report.

English aside, the most common languages spoken in student homes are Tagalog, Indic (includes Bangla, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Nepali, Panjabi, Punjabi, Sinhalese and Urdu) and Ukrainian.

It suggests 3.2 per cent of households speak an Ojibwa dialect while Cree and Oji-Cree is spoken in 1.2 per cent of them. Michif is not included in the roundup.

“We need to act on this and we need to act on this learning swiftly because our languages are at risk,” Anderson said.

Registration is open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents in the division.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca