 Yo, nugo am anis alal, gaiuklin lach klamataw, ludz aqualutin. So, one of my given names is anis alal. My English name is Dana. I come from Cape Mudge, which is on Quadra Island. I'm married into the Canberra Nation, which is the Wiwakum, the Ligwistok. The program that I want to talk about is called the Baqwamgala Language Group. I think the earliest recollection that I have from that group starting was in 1996. There was a few of us, people that were very passionate about language. We just wanted to learn our language, so we got together and we worked with some elders in our community. The name derives from one of our elders from Cape Mudge. Baqwam literally means Indian-speaking people. So that's how we got the name Baqwamgala. So literally that name comes from one of the elders at Cape Mudge. And yeah, we just are interested in trying to revitalize language, so we've been in existence since 1996. Our purpose is to help reclaim our tongue, our native tongue, and teach our children. And that's how our group got started. So the aim of our program, like I said, was to bring the language back alive in our homes, also in our community. So it is a community-based group, but from this group there's so many things that have happened for me personally. Right now I'm teaching language in our language community group, but also in our school district and our little pre-school program. So throughout the years, I think probably about 12 years ago or maybe a little longer, we went off on a journey to become a certified language teacher. So it was a partnership through our local college, the University of Victoria. Not sure if there's any other partners, but there was a lot of people at the time and so we went on this journey of getting certified. So we did a lot of courses to become language teachers. So that was a really an awesome journey so that I could become a certified language teacher. So since that time I've been teaching in our pre-school program, so I teach language to our preschoolers. And I recently, this is in my third year of the Mentor Apprentice Program, and that's out of First Nation Education Steering Committee. That's for the funding that I receive and the elder that I work with. We have been doing that program. This is going to be, like I said, my third year. So at the end of this year, I've had 300 hours per year and I've been working on my fluency. So in the past year, I've been working at our school district and teaching the primary grades from kindergarten to grade three. So that's the purpose, just to teach language and have it more spoken in our homes. So at our Bahcom Gala Community Group, the purpose that I have, or the purpose that we have at that program was really to listen to our sounds. Our alphabet has 48 distinct sounds and we use the International Phonetic Alphabet. So our purpose in that group is really to learn those sounds so that every sound, like the cool thing about the IPA, every symbol has a sound. So our group is really good on that and we practice that. That's the first part of our group. Then we normally do some introductions, like I talked about Nugwa Amanisalaf. I said, my name is Dana. We talk about where we're from. So we do some introductions and we might say where we're from. We do a little bit of just different things that we've created. So along the path, we've had to learn how to make our own things because a lot of our stuff isn't in a book. We have to make our own curriculum that we share with our group. So we keep busy making curriculum, just sharing what we know. Maybe our elders tell stories that are part of our group. So even though I have my language teaching certificate, I'm going to just say I'm so grateful for all the elders and all of the people that have taught me because I learned how to do the classroom management kind of style through the university, but I owe all of my language skills and knowledge to the elders and to the people that have taught me. So I'm really grateful for those elders and one specific elder that I've worked with for probably, well, since the mentor apprentice and since 1996 is an elder and her name is Diane Madalpi. I want to say thank you to Emily Akin. So those are two people that have helped guide me in language. And so I'm really grateful to them for the language knowledge that I have and I'm still learning. So I still have a ways to go, but I still am just grateful for their teachings. So yeah, I just wanted to put that make sure that I honor them and say thank you to them. And then the school system, you know, there's always ways of making sure your children are learning. So I do know, you know, when I see them, when I see them saying the words back correctly or, you know, we do play a lot of games in language. So it shows their knowledge. That's kind of how I know. And even in our little preschool program, you know, I really think because we're doing a little immersion program in our preschool, Kwan-Witzi, we're really grateful. So we have two elders that are there daily. And I get to go there twice a week. And when I see those little ones and the knowledge that they're holding and then they're able to bring that over to the school system that I'm actually teaching in now. But I do see them, you know, they are learning kind of a basis at the preschool. So I really think when I see them being successful and being proud of who they are, because it's part of who they are, that was the biggest reason why we started our language program because we wanted to make sure we don't lose part of our identity because I strongly feel language is tied to who we are. So one of the reasons our purpose of Bakwam Gala was to reclaim that identity. So when I see our little ones be proud of that, it makes me like makes my heart feel good. Our children are really fortunate. They have culture teachers. I'm a language teacher and I'm not a culture teacher, but I see those going hand in hand. A lot of the songs that we have, the dances that we have, the things that happen in our gukzi or big house, you know, are connected. So when I see our children thrive in both of those worlds, I know that that's being a successful program. Like I know when they put on their regalia and how proud they are and just, you know, their eyes light up and just, you can see they have a purpose. And I really think that that's part of, you know, showing that this is working. In the school system, we have a drumming program and I see the kids light up in the same way. And it doesn't have to be all of our gingenanam, all of our children because it's mixed. It's both of our children and it's the non-native children that are coming together and learning. And that's who we teach at the school system. We're not just teaching our own children. We're teaching all of the kids. So I see it being a value, not just us teaching our own kids, but teaching the whole, you know, all of the children because it's, I think it's a part of a year learning the language of this land, this territory. This is something that is important. And I also think that it's a part of healing. So I really think when you, when children from all of those cultures, whoever they might be are learning this language or this territory, I think it's kind of a part of reconciliation and a part of healing. So that's what I believe is happening with this. Yeah, that's what I hope happens. So this is kind of my first year. I've been, I have a whole year under my belt. So last year was, you know, probably I taught from January to June. And I can't really, like I can say I did see some successes and it was really good. For our Kwanwitzi kids, that's our preschool program. I always see, you know, when they move up into our school system that, you know, they have some prior knowledge and that's really cool. And when they can share that with the rest of the class, I think that's pretty positive. So, you know, they're proud of being able to remember if they can remember a word, you know, that I'm teaching that they might have learned in preschool. So I do see that, that they are able to share and know what they know that word. It's hard to, you know, to gauge. You know, all I know is having some, having our children have that identity, have who they are, have language as part. I just remember when we were learning our own self and knowing that, you know, it's kind of in our molecular cellular, like language is part of who we are. And I think it's always been there. And one of the times somebody taught me that and I, and it's always stuck with me. So I do know that, you know, I want our children to have that. I think our ancestors would be happy and smiling that our language is still alive, because that's our purpose. We don't want it to die. We don't want it to be one of those languages that is gone. We've created a lot of things in this area to help that. You know, we are losing elders and that's scary. You know, in the last couple years, we've lost some really strong language-speaking elders and that hurts. So it puts a lot of pressure on everybody else to make sure that what we're doing has a really big, huge purpose so that our language does not die. So it has to keep surviving and I think that that's part of what we're doing right now. And when I see our children just, and the non-native children learning that, it just makes my heart feel good. So we've had to face a lot of challenges. You know, like mentioned, our elders, you know, sometimes they're not well and that's been hard. So making sure that, you know, we don't put too much pressure on our elders and I know we've had to do that. So we've created a lot of curriculum and that's been a challenge because we can't go to a bookstore and buy our curriculum. So we've had to make it. So that's part of our challenge. Sometimes it's an uphill battle, just finding the partners. But we make it work. You know, our school district is one of our biggest partners now and in September of 2019, this September coming up, we're going to have our very first ever immersion kindergarten program and it's never been done anywhere else in Canada. So we're going to be the very first one that's ever going to have an in a school district one immersion program for our language. I think that's a pretty big feat in itself. Like I think I take my hat off to some of our administrators and our school district, our board for, you know, believing it. But there's still a lot of work that needs to happen. We still need to, you know, create and work with the system. But yeah, I think that there's lots of still work to be done, but that's a challenge. So working on the curriculum is a challenge. Working on time, making sure we don't pressure our elders more than we already are. That's a challenge. You know, we always look for little grants. I think paying our elders is also something very important to me. Ever since our program has been in place, we always look for different pots of funding to help make sure that our elders are, you know, looked after properly because you don't just expect a university person to come in and teach things, you know, because they're not going to be able to learn this from a book. We need to honour those elders and pay them accordingly. So sometimes that's a challenge if we don't have the funds. But our group's been pretty successful in that part. So we make sure our elders get looked after. Well, I really believe all of our connection comes from the land. That's one of the teachings I learned from my mom at a pretty young age. So I see our programs being a lot more successful when our children are learning on the land. When we were taking our teaching program, we did some of our training on the land and it was really something that I'm never going to forget. So we did a lot of our training like right on the land. I know when we bring our children out and teach them things on the land, I think it's more meaningful. So Indigenous education to me, that that's part of what that is, is just, you know, really being in an environment where it's more meaningful. Maybe it's at the beach and you're learning beach words and you're picking up things and you have in your hands. So it's really, I don't know what they call that when they have things that you're learning. It's a learning style. So it's just being connected. So I really think that that's what Indigenous education means to me is just being that connected. And whenever I do any kind of teaching, that's part of where I want to come from is just making sure that connection happens with the children and with myself to make sure that, you know, that they know that this is why I'm doing what I'm doing to try and, you know, share what I know. So it's part of like what you learn from your elders. You know, it's not good to hold on to it. So it's good to, when you learn something, it's good to share that as well, like to others. I think I talked a little bit about, you know, how language is part of who we are. It's a part of our identity. And I feel that if we lose our language, we'll lose part of our identity. You know, and that's why I think language revitalization is so important. You wouldn't be doing this for 20-plus years, you know, without knowing that this is important and just persevering through all the obstacles that we've had to go through, you know, whether it be the curriculum building or doing things on the side of your desk because obviously you need to have a job and sometimes the language teaching part hasn't always been my job. So creating things at night or, you know, creating things whenever you can, that sometimes is a challenge. So language teaching is, you know, a part of what I'm doing, but it's also not my whole entire job. So doing what you have to do to make it in the world, you know, is something, but I think Indigenous education to me is just knowing who you are. So that's really important, teaching our children their identity and language is part of the identity. So really knowing who you are and where you come from. The two things that are, I think, so important, and I think about, you know, how we start a language class, just giving a little introduction, that's just that connection to where you're from and how you connect with others and how you're connected and maybe through relatives or whatever, but I think that that's what language Indigenous education is, is just knowing who you are, where you're going and just helping people through that pathway. I've always wanted our own school, our own band operated school and we've talked about it for probably those 20 years that we've been in a language revitalization. So having our own band run school, our Kwan-Witze program is a band operated school, but growing from that, you know, even though I know our school district has the immersion program happening and I'm happy that's happening, I'd love to have our band operated school where culture and language will be taught daily, not just once a week, like how I'm doing it now. Our immersion program is going to have a lot more language involved, but I'd love to see the culture go hand in hand with that so where they're learning some of the traditional values and some of the dancing and some of the things that we can't teach in our little time that we are at our school, at the school district right now. So that is one of the goals, is having our own band operated school.