CPF Magazine Fall 2020 Issue

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BEYOND THE OF Recognizing Indigenous/Inuit Languages and Cultures — A Path to Reconciliation For the past few years, Canadian Parents for French has been working to increase its growth in the Canadian territories. New CPF groups are emerging in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. northern horizons are CPF’s broadening. However, in Canada’s current political-cultural setting, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is a must. CPF is responsible for carefully investigating the paths that must be taken to create strong ties with the different communities in Canada’s territories. The various legislative realities concerning language and culture, the lack of representation of Indigenous languages, especially in schools, and the development of French are challenges of which an organization like CPF needs to be aware. Understanding these realities in order to act with tact is crucial to the development and sustainability of French in the territories, where most of the population is Indigenous or Inuit. French cannot flourish unless stakeholders become aware of the historical, linguistic, and cultural demands of the communities in which they wish to develop or maintain it. This article provides an overview of territorial realities to present the challenges and experiences of each of these Chapters. In the end, strategies will be proposed for the sustainable development and enhancement of CPF’s relationships with other communities. 12 CPF MAGAZINE FALL 2020 OVERVIEW OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE REALITIES IN THE CANADIAN TERRITORIES Today, there are more than 60 Indigenous languages and dialects spoken in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2017). Of all these language communities, only Cree, Inuktitut, and Ojibwe, languages that have existed for millennia, are considered languages with enough speakers to be revitalized (Walker, 2017). Of the three Canadian territories, only two have granted official status to Indigenous and Inuit languages. In Nunavut, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun are spoken alongside English and French. In addition to its official act, this territory has added an Inuit Language Protection Act. In the Northwest Territories, the Official Languages Act recognizes 11 official languages, including nine Indigenous languages, in addition to the two official languages of Canada. In Yukon, the use of Yukon’s Indigenous languages is recognized by law, but only officially recognized since 1988. 1 Several elementary schools offer a First Nations or Inuit language option. However, research has shown that there was almost no teaching of Indigenous languages in high school, which were used primarily as a support for learning English before being removed from the curriculum (Aylward, 2009). With the project for the modernization of the Official Languages Act, many organizations, including territorial francophone associations and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes (FCFA), have taken on the challenge of including the recognition of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit languages so that they are identified as an integral part of Canadian identity (De Ciccio, 2019). A LOOK AT THE YUKON Glyn Lewis, Executive Director of CPF BC & Yukon, reports that the relationships between the Yukon Chapter and the territory’s francophone community are very good today. The Chapter works closely with the Association franco-yukonnaise (AFY) to set up French cultural activities in French language and French immersion schools. A few years ago, CPF BC & Yukon was involved in a trilingual program with Hardwicke Island in northern British Columbia. An Indigenous Elder visited the various schools during language courses to share and teach the island’s mother tongue and culture. In 2017, tensions between the various language communities, unfortunately, led to the end of the program, which had initially been considered to be innovative and inclusive. According to Lewis, CPF BC & Yukon has learned a great deal from this situation and about the importance of better supporting itself and providing assistance to various language communities.
FICIAL REALITY BY ANDRÉANNE SIMARD REGIONAL ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR, CPF QUEBEC AND NUNAVUT AND ÉDITH VACHON-RAYMOND JOURNALIST (B.A. IN CANADIAN STUDIES, INDIGENOUS STUDIES AND HISTORY) A LOOK AT THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Since 2018, CPF has made significant progress in building relationships and recognizing other language and cultural communities in the territories. Activities aimed at promoting Indigenous cultures were included in CPF NWT programming; in particular, the Family Bike Rally in French on June 21, 2018, a NWT statutory holiday dedicated to the National Indigenous Peoples Day. During this family bike ride, the participants had the chance to discover the origins of this celebration, as well as several places rich in Dene history and traditions. This was one of the highlights of the 2018/19 programming. In 2019/20, CPF NWT also established closer ties with the francophone community to promote the sharing of human, financial, and material resources. Some of these key partnerships already existed, including organizing the traditional Sugar Shack Cooking in French. A LOOK AT NUNAVUT Since 2017, CPF has been working to establish CPF Québec Nunavut (QCNU) in Nunavut. In 2019, the first CPF ‘Team’ Nunavut was formalized. The goal of this team, which brings together different organizations from the community, is to provide francization tools and services adapted to local needs, while reducing the burden of cumbersome administrative governance processes. 2 In addition, the CPF ‘Team’ mission is to promote CPF QCNU within Nunavut. It has been almost a year since the collaboration agreement was signed, and very positive changes are being seen. The relationship between CPF QCNU and the francophone community is strong because most francophone families in the territory are exogamous, so there is already a regular mix of language and culture. CPF’s activities are well received because they allow families to have access to French or bilingual experiences even if they don’t have any knowledge of the language, while also bringing together francophones, francophiles and anglophones in a fun environment that facilitates French learning. However, relationships with Inuit communities need to be built and are, therefore, a top priority. In 2019, the CPF QCNU team made a strategic trip to meet with Inuit leaders. During the next visit, CPF QCNU would like to organize a meeting with stakeholders from the francophone community and a meeting with representatives of Inuit communities to encourage collaboration and the development of forward-looking projects that are focused on the needs of the community. THE BOTTOM LINE... There are many key issues in the northern territories, including the high turnover of staff, historical misunderstanding of Indigenous and Inuit issues, the high community mobility, the lack of resources, etc. Everything seems to indicate that creating meaningful relationships and developing forward looking projects among the various language communities of a territory benefits the vitality and development of each one. CPF is fortunate to be a strong organization. In a pivotal time of reconciliation and in conjunction with the modernization of the Official Languages Act, CPF has the unique opportunity to take a leadership role in shaping a healthy development of Canada’s language identity that is respectful, inclusive, and restorative. To achieve this, proposed strategies such as the following could be implemented: Proposed strategies to foster the vitality of Canadian language identity: 1) Recognize and defend Indigenous and Inuit languages as fundamental languages in Canada; 2) Promote the creation of meaningful bridges between the various language communities (First Nations, Métis, Indigenous, francophone, etc.) by addressing their issues and needs, while promoting the sharing of resources; 3) Develop partnerships between Indigenous and francophone organizations so meaningful projects or actions can be implemented; 4) Respectfully include the culture and history of Indigenous and Inuit peoples in annual programming (e.g., CPF NWT’s biking activity on National Indigenous Peoples Day in Yellowknife, 2018). n 1 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. “Yukon adopts its Language Act.” https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/timeline-event/yukon-adopts-its-languages-act 2 In the north, there is a high turnover of staff, so it is difficult to ensure the sustainability of projects. CPF QCNU sees itself as a kind of support, both an administrative officer and an organizational memory that promotes the creation of relationships between the different language communities. CPF MAGAZINE FALL 2020 13
Page 1 and 2: FALL 2020 Magazine $6.95 • FREE F
Page 3 and 4: Magazine CANADIAN PARENTS FOR FRENC
Page 5 and 6: How to Preserve French Language Lea
Page 7 and 8: applications such as Jeux pour lire
Page 9 and 10: CPF BRANCHES CPF Branches Take Camp
Page 11 and 12: Columbia, Québec, Saskatchewan and
Page 13: U N I V E R S I T É D E S A I N T
Page 17 and 18: French immersion contributes greatl
Page 19 and 20: PROGRAM 2020 SNEAK PEEK Keynotes CP
Page 21 and 22: TM EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN FR
Page 23 and 24: CPF RESOURCE It’s that time of ye
Page 25 and 26: CPF YOUTH ACTIVITY
Page 27 and 28: Discover the arts in french Welcome

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