 The language strategy is there's 22 separate initiatives within it. Some of them are programs, some of them are initiatives or or or focuses. The strategy itself was developed as I was saying earlier through our former partnership or our partnership with Mike Parkhill and say it first when we were at the Rain River Board and there was the Ministry of Ed, Rain River Board, Ten First Nations, and Seven Gens. We embarked on creating resources for teachers, our native language teachers, so they can then spend two, three, four hours a night trying to create resources for their classes. So in that work fantastic there was a number of books created, you know, technical type of tools such as a RASMA and that helps with fluency and things like that, but one of the things that we found with that strat and with that is it wasn't creating more speakers, it was basically having really good resources created for our language teachers and so and what we so he took a step back and what we saw is that you know our great language teachers team within the Rain River Board, well they weren't getting any younger and there was no farm team to help them out to carry on and sustain the program. So we created this strategy. Mike and I talked about some of the issues and and we went back to the drawing board and and then we approached the Ministry of Ed and and others in our First Nations and got band council resolutions to support it and you know thankfully the Ministry of Ed EDU K-12 unit supported this and so we're off and running we're we're about eight months into it and you know there's all these different programs from adult immersion to the mentor apprentice to a thing called the conjugation tool which is a tool that's created where it will be one of the Ojibwe language be one of the 125 or 26 languages that Microsoft will support so meaning what that means is instead of saying file edit and all that will all be in Ojibwe and so those are those are some of the things that are coming from it like when I say initiatives. Probably the program right now that's garnered the most attention has been the adult immersion where you know within the strategy each of the 10 First Nations were to they chose a candidate to become a fluent speaker and be paid to do it within a three-year time frame and so the strategy supported that but what we found was a number of the First Nations wanted you know a second and third person to to be part of this and they're paying for that themselves and so you know it really shows the importance that they that language has on our communities because it's the basis of the culture if the language goes there is no more culture there isn't there isn't things such as ceremony and and you know protocols that are that are done in the language only that there's things that you can't translate literally into English when you're talking Ojibwe and so that's why to me seven gents and and you know the Rainier River Board along with the First Nations and the Ministry of Ed we've we've partnered on this and it's probably a greater purpose than just programs in that it's about helping communities with their language and culture and helping that survive so they have that identity of they're from Negagusa Manicannang then you know these are some of the you know and you know lots of people talk about the different dialects and this and that and and within the strategy we'll be able to account for that as well because you know as as the folks are in the adult immersion mentor apprentice they're being paired with elders and resource people from their communities so they're going to learn their dialect and and there are a little differences in that but there's lots of similarities too so so really I mean the language strategy is just going to be a game changer for our communities and for our people and I think one of the things that's important about it is that we you know for our for our young young ones that live on our communities them being having access to language and culture it will help strengthen them as students and as people within their community because that's who that's who they are you know we we haven't uh seven gents has never uh changed its philosophy around culture language and and those types of things for providing those for our students because that's what our communities ask for and that's what we we have to deliver on because if if we don't we're just uh we're just a mainstream institute with an indigenous name you know so we really want to uh this strategy is going to be a game changer it's going to help create things that are needed like teachers for example so public school boards can sustain programs it's going to create opportunities for adult immersion folks to for example right next door to us is the health access center where there's lots of elders that struggle with English so there's translator jobs there's there's lots of different things that are available and you just look at like lakehead university or colleges in that route you know they probably are in the same boat as public school boards trying to find fluent speakers to sustain their programs so i think it's going to be a real win-win for for our for northwestern ontario treaty three and then also you know for thunder bay and helping with their language program and the education program so there's quite a bit um one of things within uh prior to the strategy we've been doing with the initial bemo and immersion program and our partnership with sue college and you know there's there's lots of good things that have been happening with that and connecting various elders and resource people from around the area it's been awesome we've had you know our own uh culture and language guy and robert horton he's been uh teaching in that as well and uh the challenge with that one is just because it's weekend based so you know fluency is created with anywhere between 15 to 20 hours a week speaking in the language and it's hard to get that if you're running it every second weekend and so you know the focuses of that have changed a bit on how we can make it fit and make it work because most of the candidates in that have full-time jobs during the week so obviously they're not going to quit that too so we we got to look at different ways to deliver those types of things whether it's at night or whatever um you know one of the things we're going to tie in is the adult immersion uh program that we started with the strategy with the with this partnership with suit college so they gain the certificates and that as well even though it's it's it's kind of delivered in a different way so there's there's lots of different things happening in a nutshell you know the strategy without uh I guess one of the things I didn't touch on in strategy was the mentor apprentice program which is a huge uh part of it as well uh that will help create sustainability with school boards in northwestern Ontario by building fluent speakers that are teachers and and you know lu supporting that and the board supporting that because when they're done they're they're education and they're schooling there's a job waiting for them and it's it's it's uh it's going to be a really uh I can't wait to see it in action because um they're going to be able to spend time uh schedule time with elders and resource people they'll be learning off the land they'll be learning things in the language and and uh to have young students graduating from grade 12 fluent in the language it's awesome that's that's that's a really important part of it as well in it and you know for the Rainier River Board or Boards and Thunder Bay having this bank of uh you know young fluent Ojibwe teachers it's even at the elementary level because you know if you're building teachers to teach obviously in the elementary schools as well there's that the everything's connected and that's what I had mentioned there's 22 different initiatives but they're all we drew it on the board when they held they're all connected from resource development another big part of the strategy is the early years working with daycares so working with the the ECE workers there and the folks that work in there on language strategies and skills and and having those young folks coming out of daycares going into school that have a knowledge base of the language and and you know they're going to do better you know and so like I said it's all connected in some way you know even the conjugation tool for you know I mentioned about so what I didn't expand on that so if you type in I want to go to the store and hit conjugate it'll come up every possible sentence in Ojibwe will be accounted for and it's running through scripts and that it's a pretty it's pretty technical in how we did this but we're about a couple years away from having this thing launched and so it's and once we're there Microsoft will adopt it and and we're off and running so so if you're in Germany and you however you say I want to go to the store in German and hit translate to Ojibwe it'll translate it to Ojibwe too you know one of the things that we've been seeing on our communities and working specifically on the language is that you know the the number of speakers that are going down because what you see now is there's a generation that grew up without the language and now they have kids and they isn't spoken at home and those types of things so the greater purpose around the strategy is to help our communities survive in terms of their identity their ability to you know do ceremonies and practice culture and language because you know as our elders pass on you know there's a knowledge base that just is gone once you know if so we need to somehow help our communities work with that and make sure that they there's that knowledge base that is passed on to generations below and and it's difficult to pass it on if you're not a speaker if you're not if you're not practicing the culture and and those those those are just key areas that you know and I'm not going to say that Seven Gens is a savior but we're just we're just an equal partner with every one of the Ten First Nations here so if they need us to help them with whatever we try our best to do that if we need them to help us with whatever they try their best to do that and so it's like I said it's a shared responsibility Seven Gens has some means to help support the communities whether it's access to native language program at LU or the adult immersion we're just a mechanism to help help build those types of things within the community so that's to me it's a greater purpose is just our is to have meaningful input and and facilitation and supports for our communities and language and culture is a key for for the survival of of our communities but also for survival of Seven Gens because that's who we are we're built around the language and the culture and and you know people well how do you do language and culture and welding or whatever and I always say you know you look at it this way is that you know we have the language and culture as our basis how do you build welding around that into that and think of it the other way around and that's that's how we approach things I think the strategy is going to take you know a couple of years to measure the success of it because again you know bumps in the roads like finding you know fluent speakers to teach in the adult immersion program for example or to teach in the language strategy at a program so I think you know it would be a few years before we start seeing the the results I one of the things that to judge how you're doing as an institute is to talk to the students you can put all the ads up you want and wherever arenas and everything else but if the students are coming out of there and saying to the next person you know what I just graduated from Seven Gens was awesome they supported me that's the key that's the key is your is your is what the students think of your institute and how you've helped them and other because if you're not if they're not happy or say they you know I wouldn't go there the program wasn't that great or whatever then you're really not doing it so their opinion is the only one that really matters in my opinion I mean we may think we're doing what we need to do but if the students aren't saying it wasn't a positive experience or it wasn't what they thought it would be so you know we we work continually to make our programs better to to have accountability so when they graduate from here whether it's in social work or whatever they can go out into the world the society get a job and be successful at that that's that's a telling tale well indigenous education is a lot of things one of the things that we created here is well the position I was I was existed but it's a language language and cultural facilitator and what we've done with that position is through partnerships with one of our economic economic development corporations or on a cogegan we deliver cultural engagement training to every employee that works at the new new gold mine so it's either a four-hour session or an eight-hour session um from that is expanded where you know riverside healthcare wanted all their workers to go through it uh you know the city of canora for example the mayor and his council and all the people that worked for the city of canora went through sessions it's it's part of our job is to help people understand you know maybe why the relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous communities you know in some areas aren't are positive or why are they working in some areas and those types of things so it's really important that we help with the education of of not only non-indigenous people but first-nation communities as well so we we continue to build on that that's an important role for for what we do um one of the things we ran the Aboriginal teacher education program for years we know partnership with queens and when you go into there was a lots of non-indigenous people came through this program but if you go in their classrooms now you'll see a reflection of if there's 50 first nation students in their classroom you'll see a reflection whether it's on the wall or and how they deliver or what the focus is on and who their guest speakers are why because they just know better they went through this they went through something that kind of wherever it clicked in their head that you know what if i got 50 percent first nation students or more in my classroom i got to do things in there that they can connect with and it's really important that that's you know as you know i remember going well i don't remember a lot of my formal education but i i don't remember a lot about first nation's people other than you know you see that big book right there the candidate is made of people yeah like that was that was it and and a lot of it is is misconceptions or half truths and those types of things so we know more now and we you know so it's it's that's that's one of our roles of seven gents is to partner with whether it's businesses or or school boards or whatever to to help work together uh you know one of one of the things that i remember being asked probably about 10 years ago uh down in toronto as i was there with the school board for something they asked me what what do you think in a successful indigenous student looks like and i said well that's kind of an interesting question you know but if if i was to put myself in that it would be a student that has the skills and the talents to be able to do anything that they want whether it's welding or teaching whatever but they have their their language and culture right here in their heart and to me that's a that's a successful well-rounded indigenous student but a successful indigenous student looks like any other student you know what i mean like it's not like they're you know uh the the mainstream institutes are built too for our high achieving and and and students that have that opportunity to go there and that's important that they have that you know we're not saying that they shouldn't come to seven gents or whatever but you know sometimes they need to go there's more opportunities that say an lu or or queens that uh you know that that it can be really specific on you know maybe it's a very specific program that seven gents isn't able to uh offer or you know or because it comes down to numbers and all that but that is there so i think one of the relationships between our indigenous and non-indigenous people are are really a key in and making society and making uh things better for the generations to come i mean if people understand each other more they're gonna they're gonna know how to do things better and and from seven gents perspective i i believe that's a real important way to look at things is you know uh i remember quite a few years ago we did a uh uh kind of a conference at old fort william and thunder bay and we invited uh you know grade eight nines and tens i believe it was it was just on you know what's working in schools what is in those types of you know your general questions and that and uh these were your high achieving students these were ones that were you know maybe had some struggles or were on the fence of going either way successful or not so at the end they did a debriefing and there was these team leaders for indigenous tea students from con college i think some from l u as well and they were kind of the group leaders and so they did a kind of a rundown of what was important and what would they do if we were able to do this again next year what would they do every single one of them said we'd like to have our non-indigenous friends here so to me that spoke volumes because as soon as you start separating and doing things specific for first nations or specific for non-indigenous it just you know that's not the way the world you know what i mean like there's our first nations yeah there's things that you know you can do and this and that but let's not make that the focus let's make it working together and and that's why seven gens obviously is is open to anyone it's not you don't have to be first nation to come here or or indigenous that's an interesting question that's it's kind of a tough question too i mean we ask our senior management and our board and where do we see ourselves where do we see our institute 10 years from now and you know obviously i know one area is the technical aspect technology and and making sure that you have the programs the tools and those types of opportunities for the students to be because you know we talked about some of the training we've done for new gold mine for example and everybody thinks well you know you pickaxe and a shovel no it's computer-based and it's you know this is how mining is done we have a mining simulator what's computer-based so the guy is even underground or the woman isn't even underground and so those types of things making sure that you have those opportunities because they need to train on what they're going to be using in the workforce and whether it's a mac computer or microsoft whatever it may be so having those types of things is really important i think with as a whole indigenous education i just think that there's there's opportunities on not our communities there's a lot of untapped resources as i mentioned because the opportunities haven't been there there hasn't been maybe positive relationships between whether it's a company and the first nation or whatever may be having those barriers broken down so there is that relationship so there is opportunity whether it's a gold mine or a diamond mine or or paper mill whatever it may be you know i think for for our first nations too i think there's going to be greater opportunities for careers like in you know not only law but medicine teaching you know one of the areas that's interesting that you know there's not a lot of first nations or indigenous teachers in canada let alone in northwestern ontario so how do you how do you you know promote that as a as a viable career for you know someone on one of our first nations you know and and i and i think that's it you know there's lots of those types of opportunities that i think are going to come in the next 10 years but i can't stress enough i think that technology is going to be a huge thing and and whether you're a mainstream institute which they they know as well not only indigenous but none of you know the technology that's going to be here you know six months from now you know five years from now how do we prepare uh uh young ones for that you know and uh one of the things i forget though too is that the the students that we're getting now have grown up with technology so they you know it's not like it's going to be new to them but we have to help them in in in a stream or or a way that they can they can find that support in whatever school they go to obviously the language and culture is going to be a huge part of of indigenous education because as i mentioned you know we talked about a little bit about minupamatsu in and the good life and but there's i was telling you about the elders always working towards that that you're not there you're working towards it so i think for our students for indigenous students is knowing that type of processes and and and the the teachings from their communities from their elders from their from their resource people on our communities to help so they still have that part of them as who they are you know where they come from there's a connection there's a grounded groundedness for them um you know and having our having our young folks you know as we mentioned earlier about day cares and fluency in the language and having those opportunities as they go into school so when they hit grade three their success their chances of success in graduating on a grade 12 or that much greater when they know their language and have that basis you know there's a connectivity there with with the land with the culture with their ancestors so that's that's another big part of you know an overall not just education but that's an overall lifestyle and a way of living a way of knowing relationship to the land to the to the world their views of the world all very important oh i think with with uh ontario recognizing the indigenous institutes as that third pillar the opportunities to support seven jans and the other eight institutes in ontario will be will be that much better um you know the technology parts of it you know it's it's kind of a you have to balance what labor market needs are community needs as an indigenous institute and what i mean by that is you know if new gold needs if you look in the four frances paper every wednesday there's this list of jobs in new gold that they're looking for um then you look at all the first nations and you know they need anything from office admin to social service worker to band manager whatever it may be those are all the skill sets that being a band manager you have to wear a lot of different hats you know you have to know finance you have to know proposals you have to know a lot of different things and so being able to to provide opportunities for people under communities to be able to contribute to the economy not only on their communities but in the society itself is important but the labor market needs lots of times in many cases determine the direction of some of your programming like new gold for example like we've done lots of different trainings surface minor to you know office admin culinary for example like we look at our facility in canora canora's got like 60 or 70 restaurants they need people to work in those restaurants like the population and doubles there in the summertime so they need you know from catering to chefs to assistant chefs to line cooks so we all have we have to we have to watch all of that and and work with our businesses to say okay this is we really need you know uh uh line cook training or whatever because they're all specifics I mean you think culinary but there's like red seal chef there's a sister chef there's banquet porter there's all these different things so um so you really having that pulse and working with our business communities and and that helps determine where where you need to go um again and not just you know for francis area canora area and surrounding but then also the specific needs on our first nations as first nations we we struggle to with finding that people quality that have the skills to to succeed because I'm not sure if you know but if you've ever done reports for inac or things like that like it they're not just cut and dry he you know you need to yeah there's lots of details at times in specific areas so we just have to continue to work with the leadership on our communities and and the labor market needs and see where it goes from there I think because it's fairly new you know we're eight months into a seven-year strategy the important thing is that there there's going to be some bumps in the roads or we're we're going to have to you know make some adjustments as we as we move through this but um the the really exciting thing about this is that our communities are are our full partners in this and helping they'll help solve some of the the barriers or the or some of the roadblocks that we run into the we will need to rely on them to help us solve these and um so when you have everyone working together in a partnership for the same goals then it becomes something that you can do some pretty great things and that's I think that's a really neat way to look at it because you know we're with the strategy we're nowhere without our 10 first nations being full partners in this you know it's not gonna seven gents isn't gonna um you know determine the you know whether it's successful or not it's going to be everyone has a whole determining whether it's going to be successful and and I think that's what's neat so everybody's kind of going in the same direction and can see the end goal how do we get there when these barriers come up I think that's the big thing