Indigenous languages are dying. Here’s how we fight that trend – Toronto Star

March 28, 2024

Every one of us has a role to play. Indigenous people and settler-Canadians can contribute to a healing chapter in our shared story of Indigenous languages removal, recovery and revival.

Decades of hard work have been restoring and protecting the Indigenous languages that are such a vital part of Kanata’s history.

Yet, the urgency of this continued and necessary work can’t be overstated.

A 2023 Statistics Canada survey of nearly 240,000 Indigenous people reported the first decline in 30 years in the number of people who knew their language well enough to carry on a conversation. Those reporting an Indigenous first language also dropped by seven per cent.

This isn’t surprising, as most first language speakers who learned these languages from birth — before violent and deliberate colonial attempts to break the link between Indigenous people and their cultures — are approaching the last season of their lives.