FPCC Celebrates 25 Years of Supporting Indigenous Languages and Arts in B.C.
Press Release
Brentwood Bay, B.C. – The First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) is proud to announce the release of its 25th Anniversary Report. For 25 years, FPCC has provided funding and resources to communities, monitored the status of First Nations languages, and collaborated with organizations on special projects that have raised the profile of Indigenous arts and languages in B.C., Canada and internationally. The report provides information on FPCC’s key accomplishments, including impacts and progress.Since FPCC began offering grants in 1991, the scope and breadth of its programs have grown steadily. In FPCC’s first year delivering funding, just under $775,000 was provided. By 2014/2015, that amount grew to $3,100,000 in funding to communities, groups and individuals.
“As we release this report, we have a lot to celebrate,” said Marlene Erickson, Chair of the Board at FPCC. “However, B.C.’s First Nations communities have been doing amazing work with limited resources for many years. Our goals moving forward are to work with communities to create new fluent speakers and to ensure that every Indigenous language in B.C. is documented, recorded and available to future learners.”
“Our languages have been suppressed for 10 generations,” said Tracey Herbert, Executive Director at FPCC. “FPCC has been fighting to bring them back for 25 years – one generation – but we have a long way to go. Although we are thrilled that Indigenous issues, including our languages, have been receiving increased attention, we need immediate action and investment to ensure their revitalization.”
FPCC’s Impact Over 25 Years at a Glance:
- Funding delivered over 25 years: $37,906,696
- Communities benefiting from the Language Revitalization Planning Program: 135
- Archives of B.C. First Nations languages on FirstVoices: 38
- Numbers of words and phrases on FirstVoices: 96,239 and 43,501, respectively (just over 9% of what’s required for all languages to be archived)
- Number of arts projects since 1996: 800
- Number of people attending language training since 2009: 529
Download report: http://www.fpcc.ca/files/PDF/General/FPCC_25th_Anniversary_Report.pdf
Additional quotes attached.
Media Contact:
Megan Lappi, Communications Manager 250-652-5952 ext. 214
megan@fpcc.ca
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