Dr. Kʷupáyaʔqn Swaʕ̓ kic iʔ k̓l nqilxʷcníłxʷ ʕapnáʔ sx̌əlx̌ʕalt uł kʷu knxłtiłn miʔ scmaʔmayaʔm Nsyilxcn 2 Smiʔmáy 37. taʔlí kʷu ksknxtíłnaʔx uł x̌ast iʔ kscq̓y̓s. We had a visitor Dr. John Lyon who is going to be assisting us with recording Elders to be shared freely with community. We are so grateful to share this work and to be able to study Nsyilxcn so we can learn from the Elders. We studied Nsyilxcn 2 Lesson 37. ʕac̓nt Qʷayqʷʕayáx̌n iʔ lasmists "niʕ̓íp kʷu cnqilxʷcm." ixíʔ!
Our first day back, commencing our second year of classes. A living dream. It bears mentioning that at the beginning of last year we had twelve students. One full year later we have fifteen. kʷu cx̌əsəstiʔst ... We feel lucky to have this opportunity and will continue to vision for 2020 when we can expand. We learned lesson 31 from Nsyilxcn 2 and shared stories, captíkʷł, and review activities today. pəpiw̓pw̓t iʔ spʔustət our hearts are light.
For an inside view of what it is like inside our Language House, this film shares six minutes of lessons, oral presentations, student captíkʷł storytelling exercises, and humour, all in Nsyilxcn. The footage was filmed during the first half of our first year. We have since then completed nearly 400 hours and will complete 450 more in 2016-17, starting in September. We aim to complete 2,000 hours in four years and emerge mid-intermediate speakers. limləmt to students, family, community, supporters and funders, PIB, OIB, WFN, OKIB, SFU, FPCC, ALI and Mitacs. limləmt C̓r̓is Jordan Coble for video editing. limləmt Salish School of Spokane for excellent curriculum and teaching models. x̌ast iʔ ksck̓ʷul̓tət.
Ten-minute film of Elders storytelling evening Feb. 23, 2016 with Andrew McGinnis, Victor Antoine, Theresa Ann Terbasket, Sarah Peterson and Tony Qualtier. It is a privilege to work with these Elders and an honour that they share their stories with us. E2T Media did a beautiful job with the audio and video editing. way̓ limləmt!
Our teachers are heading down to the Salish School of Spokane this weekend and looking forward to teacher and activist training from the masters. If you have a few minutes and want to remember why we work so hard to revitalize our languages, watch this film by SSOS. It says it so clearly, it isn't just about language, it̓s about confidence and healing, and knowing who you are. x̌ast iʔ ksck̓ʷul̓tət. http://www.salishschoolofspokane.org/revitalizingsalish.html Congratulations to sixteen students and teachers for achievement of the FIRST YEAR of language classes. It has been a phenomenal year, the first of four. 400 hours down, 1,200 to go! Thank you to Elders, community, and leadership for supporting our journey. The Elders who heard the students are proud, and we know the ancestors would be too. Students gave presentations on the life cycles of tmixʷ, animals, birds and insects. We can't thank enough the supporters and families ... Salish School of Spokane, Paul Creek, Penticton Indian Band, Osoyoos Indian Band, Westbank First Nation, Okanagan Indian Band, Okanagan Nation Alliance, Simon Fraser University,First Peoples' Cultural Council. Thank you MP Dick Cannings for representing the Federal Government. It has been a week with losses and deep sadness in Syilx community and our graduation day this week was a glimmer of happiness reflected by the lived experience of decolonizing healing through language. Chief John Kruger said "keep going!" Watch out for the class of 2020 ... The 2020 plan and 2030 plan are underway ... limləmt p isnəqsílxʷ. iʔ nqilxʷcntət iʔ mrimstntət.
We are grateful to Okanagan College in Penticton for loaning us a classroom today ... kʷu kʷułntməlx iʔ sn̓m̓aʔm̓áy̓aʔtn ʕapnáʔ sx̌əlx̌ʕalt...and the Dean for welcoming us. It happened to be a day with a smaller group and a lot of Nsyilxcn 2 grammar. We made good use of the wall sized whiteboard. The atmosphere of intensive learning helped offset the headaches from the new grammar. The new Jim Pattison building is beautiful, state of the art, and a great place for nqilxʷcn. We are grateful for this amazing curriculum which continues to build our language proficiency every day, for the support from our communities, Penticton, Westbank, Osoyoos, and OKIB.
Two wonderful guests at the Language House. Smukaxen Pierre shared cultural protocols and supported us emotionally as sqilxʷ people. It is important to respect ourselves as individuals and support each other and our communities. X̌ʷnámx̌ʷnam Brandy Baptiste came and lifted us up ... language sisters sharing the same path. We are lucky and proud to be part of a strong community of hardworking sqilxʷ coming together to revitalize language.
Kiʔláwnaʔ Andrew McGinnis visited us today and shared his extensive knowledge about plants. In full immersion t̓i kmax nqilxʷcn! He was happy to be with us and we are very lucky to have him assist with our learning. Going strong ... we study a new Nsyilxcn 2 lesson every morning and review two Nsyilxcn 1 lessons and one Captikʷł 1 story every afternoon. We study two full days a week and have completed 350 immersion hours. We are raising each other up by following a strong method. Our hands go up in the air to the Salish School of Spokane for their amazing curriculum and language warrior leadership. Our year-end celebration and student presentation day will be Thursday June 23 at 9:00am. |
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