NILDP and NILTT Reunion 2017

The Native Indian Language Diploma Program and Native Indian Language Teacher Training Reunion will be held in June with further details TBA.

This event sponsored by the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Indigenous Education is being held in order to honour the work undertaken by staff and students of NILDP and NILTT, as well as to facilitate a dialogue around if, or how, the participants would like to tell this story. Lunch will be served in the Ceremonial Hall of the First Peoples House and the event will be attended by staff and students of the program, as well as current staff involved in relevant programming at the university.

The Native Indian Language Diploma Program and Native Indian Language Teacher Training ran from 1974 to 1981 at the University of Victoria. These programs remain some of the earliest attempts of their kind at Indigenous language revitalization in North America. Initially, the programs were established as a response to requests from Indigenous communities, with the goal of regenerating community-based instruction and use. Centered around community-based approaches, the programs built a framework for Indigenous language revitalization that recognized and embraced the geographic and educational needs of students. Although ending in the early 1980s, this framework can still be seen in ongoing language revitalization programs at the University of Victoria. Many of the former students have gone on to lead community-based language revitalization in their nations, have become authors and educational coordinators, and have received PhDs and the Order of Canada. At the University of Victoria, the impact of these programs is still present, making it all the more significant that this story is honored and that students have the opportunity to tell it.

Individuals or organizations with questions about this event or the NILDP and NILTT programs can contact Alex Paler (email: nildpniltt@uvic.ca).