An Indigenous arts society based on the Kwantlen First Nation reserve in Fort 91原创 is hoping more secure funding will help it preserve a language that has almost gone extinct.
stalew Arts & Cultural Society staff members met with 91原创 East MLA Megan Dykeman on Dec. 7 to talk about some of their successful projects, as well as the road forward.
The group has held a number of high-profile events, including two , the most recent over three days in September at the 91原创 Events Centre.
The group鈥檚 Grounding 91原创: Sharing the Language of Land and Water project will soon see a number of carved wooden plaques, each inlaid with abalone shell, placed at significant locations around 91原创 Township, part of a partnership with the municipality. Each plaque was created by a different local Indigenous artist.
Stalew has also been working on a longer-term project.
鈥淣umber one is language revitalization,鈥� said stalew manager Phyllis Atkins, whose traditional name is q虛史蓱ti虛c蓱.
The small organization is working to preserve the Indigenous languages spoken by the Kwantlen people and neighbouring groups along this part of the Fraser River.
The language鈥檚 name is written as hunquminum or h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛, and it is spoken by the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui, and Semiahmoo people. The language is closely related to Halq鈥檈m茅ylem, spoken just upstream, and the two branches of the language are referred to as the upriver and downriver dialects.
As part of that project, stalew videographer and language lead Joshua Carr has been putting together videos of language keepers, some of the few people who still speak the languages. Many of them are short video clips showing the pronunciation of words like 鈥済randma鈥� and 鈥渂aby鈥� and even 鈥渃hicken.鈥�
鈥淲e have a lot of language keepers,鈥� said stalew project coordinator and graphic designer Amber Oliver. 鈥淲e need to document it and get it on film.鈥�
There are only a tiny number of speakers of hunquminum or Halq鈥檈m茅ylem left, and many of them are not fully fluent.
But Atkins is concerned over possible cutbacks to projects like the language work, which is funded by the First People鈥檚 Cultural Council.
They鈥檙e advocating to politicians in the region to ensure the work can continue.
With a small organization 鈥� the handful of staff members work out of offices shared with the Kwantlen First Nation鈥檚 business groups on MacMillan Island 鈥� each member wears many hats, Atkins noted.
There is a lot of work yet to do on the language project, including setting up a full website and database for the videos, as well as posting them publicly.
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That鈥檚 in addition to all their other arts and culture work.
鈥淲e need more people, to share the load,鈥� Atkins said.
The group has worked with partners including the United Way, Surrey Cares, and 91原创 Township.
鈥淲e rely heavily on funders, grants,鈥� Atkins said.
There are some grants that should be easier to get.
After two successful pow wow events 鈥� the last one had 7,000 visitors at the LEC 鈥� follow-up editions of the popular event should be eligible for provincial gaming grants.
Dykeman promised to look into options with other B.C. ministers after the meeting.
