convocation, first nations language program
First Cohort of FNLP MA Students Graduating; Elder Ruby Peter Receiving Honorary Doctorate
This spring's Convocation marks two very important milestones in First Nations linguistics and towards the future of work on language revitalization:
The First Nations Language Program, a partner of the Linguistics department, will be graduating its first MA students in the Linguistics of a First Nations Language. These cohorts are composed of people who have spent countless hours crafting a synthesis of linguistic analysis from the perspective of the community's approach to traditional knowledge and teaching. The cohort based in Duncan, BC lead by has 12 students focusing on Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥�, a Central Salish language; the other cohort lead by Dr. Marianne Ignace features 12 students focusing on 5 different First Nations languages: Haida, Halkomelem, Secwepemctsin, Tahltlan, and Halkomelem. You can read more about their experience here.
In this spring's Convocation, Elder Ruby Peter will receive an honorary doctorate from 911吃瓜. She has been working on Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� for over 50 years and has contributed astonishing amounts of invaluable knowledge of Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� in that time in addition to mentoring dozens of students (including the Duncan cohort above) and being a cornerstone of the community. You can see what she has to say about her work all these years .