Indigenous language program sees bright future in permanent home

A yellow 112-year-old schoolhouse is shining in North Vancouver, B.C., as a beacon of hope that the Squamish language will live on for generations to come.

The Squamish Nation Lan‐ guage Nest Program opened Friday in its new, permanent home, ta tsíptspi7lhḵn, which translates to "voices of the nest" in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim, the Squamish lan‐ guage.

The Henry Hudson build‐ ing in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood was set to be demolished by the Vancou‐ ver School Board to make way for a new elementary school, until the Squamish Nation saved it in the eleventh hour.

After a journey across the Burrard Inlet on a barge in August, the schoolhouse was renovated, with education for little ones in mind.

WATCH | Vancouver schoolhouse relocated to new home:

Now, Squamish babies and toddlers will have a per‐ manent space to participate in the Language Nest, an im‐ mersive early education pro‐ gram almost entirely in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim.

'Critically endangered' language

Among the program's pupils is Squamish Heredi‐ tary Chief Xalek/Sekyu Siyam Ian Campbell's almost twoyear-old son, Wakaystn

Campbell, who has been in the program since he was six months old.

"In the last few weeks he said his first words in Squamish, which comes from one of the songs that we sing daily, and it was just such a beautiful, proud moment," said Campbell, who is also an elected councillor for the Squamish Nation.

He said enrolling his son is important to him because his parents survived residen‐ tial schools where they were forbidden from speaking their language.

"I was fortunate to be raised with our language through my late grandparen‐ ts, and now that I'm a father, I feel that deep responsibility to pass on the knowledge that I learned from my elders and mentors," said Campbell.

In 2010, the Squamish Na‐ tion declared its language "critically endangered" with only 10 fluent speakers at the time.

Now, Campbell said seeing the babies and tod‐ dlers learning together, as well as older students at the

Capilano Little Ones School, is a "beautiful continuity of tradition."

"It's been amazing to see the language, the stories, the songs, the culture put in ac‐ tion," he said. "They're learn‐ ing how to speak it and use it in a Squamish context, in cer‐ emony, being on the land and with each other."

Head teacher

Kaiya

Williams says seeing the new space is "surreal" and she is grateful to have it.

"We went from almost not having a home for our lan‐ guage nest to all of the sud‐ den saying, okay, this big yel‐ low house is gonna come over and it's going to be our forever home," she said.

"As soon as we stepped foot in this building, it felt like home."

Teachers at the school speak almost entirely in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim, Williams said, adding that the space is set up so parents and families can join pro‐ gramming, sharing a cup of coffee or a meal around a kitchen table or sitting to‐ gether with their children on the couch.

Campbell says the trans‐ formation of the building, which was originally estab‐ lished near the Squamish vil‐ lage of Sen̓ áḵw at the mouth of False Creek, is an example of reconciliation.

Campbell said the school was originally built "at a time when Squamish people were deemed as squatters in our own land in downtown Van‐ couver."

"By 1913, we were forcibly removed from any of our vil‐ lages around False Creek in Vancouver," he said, adding that the original school build‐ ing itself did not reflect In‐ digenous epistemologies.

"It's not about blame, shame and judgment and looking at the past," said Campbell. "It's how do we draw forward more collabo‐ ration and a common sort of shared value on purpose, and that's really about our children."