Language

Our elders teach us that our language is more than just a means of communication; it holds power and energy, and knowing the language is tantamount to understanding the worldview of our people" (Smith, 2018, p. 45). People, land, environment, and language are intricately intertwined in a reciprocal relationship.

Generations of Nitsitapii people have been deprived of learning their language due to historical trauma and policies, such as the boarding school era (Johnson, 2010, p. 28). This has instilled fear in our elders, inhibiting them from passing down the language to their children and grandchildren (Black, 2012, p. 55). Moreover, one of the primary goals of the boarding school era was to eradicate the language, resulting in children being prohibited from speaking it. This disconnection from their linguistic birthright has had profound impacts on many Nitsitapii people (White, 2014).

Despite various initiatives for language revitalization, research indicates that our language is endangered, underscoring the urgent need for revitalization efforts (Brown, 2016). The time to revitalize our language is now. Our language revitalization projects are intricately interwoven with our landscape and culture, as the language cannot be separated from these aspects due to their interconnectedness (Black, 2012, p. 102).