by Laurel Anne Stark | photos courtesy NIȽ TU,O Child & Family Services –
NIȽ TU,O is proud to fund two major SENĆOŦEN language initiatives created to support youth in learning SENĆOŦEN; the bedrock of W̱SÁNEĆ Culture.
In partnership with the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, NIȽ TU,O is supporting work on the W̱SÁNEĆ values project as well as the development of the www.sencoten.org website; a dedicated resource for all things SENĆOŦEN.
Currently, there are only seven fluent SENĆOŦEN speakers and 103 semi-speakers. Therefore, to keep the language alive it is essential it is passed on to new generations. Both projects support SENĆOŦEN’s survival by making language learning and W̱SÁNEĆ worldview resources more easily accessible for learners of all ages.
The W̱SÁNEĆ values project consists of the development of resource kits containing full Creation Stories in SENĆOŦEN and illustrated posters that highlight W̱SÁNEĆ values. The stories, and their corresponding W̱SÁNEĆ values, were passed down over the generations by Elders.
SX̱EDŦELISIYE (Renée Sampson), the SENĆOŦEN program facilitator at the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, explains the importance of these projects, “It is the ĆELÁṈEN our birthright, our SENĆOŦEN language. We must pass it on to our children.”
In addition to work on the 13 Values project, NIȽ TU,O also funded the development of www.sencoten.org, a SENĆOŦEN language learning website which launched early this fall. The website alleviates the burden on language carriers by offering teaching resources such as SENĆOŦEN posters, audio and video clips. When the 13 W̱SÁNEĆ values project is completed, it will also be included on the site.
Beyond being a community resource, SENĆOŦEN.org and the W̱SÁNEĆ values project both fulfill a larger purpose shared by NIȽ TU,O and the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board: to connect the younger generations with their ancestors, and ultimately preserve the language.
“Capturing origin stories and the lessons taught in them go a long way to recovering a language that has almost been lost,” shares Leslie-Ann Paige, Coast Salish Initiatives for NIȽ TU,O. “We are thrilled to be a part of a project that will empower Coast Salish youth to learn the language and worldview of the ancestors.”
These two language revitalization projects both further SX̱EDŦELISIYE’s goal: to realize the dreams of the ancestors by ensuring that teachers and learners of all ages have accessible tools to learn the language, culture, worldview, and natural laws of W̱SÁNEĆ people.
