Please join us next week for the last of the three talks in connection with the LING/DISE search in Indigenous Languages.

Speaker: Ryan DeCaire (UofT)

Coordinates: December 2nd, 3:00–4:30 in Arts 260 (to be followed by a reception)

Title: Tertiary Education for Indigenous Language Revitalization

Abstract:

Indigenous communities, some now for decades, have been working tirelessly to maintain and revitalize their languages with the hope that their use will again become normal. Given this experience, many communities are in a very unique, yet critical, time in their history as they struggle to restore intergenerational transmission and primary use among and between peer groups. In this struggle, we are noticing that adults are now more important than ever, especially given their necessary role in raising and teaching children. While focusing on our situation in Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) communities, in this presentation I will discuss the critical role of adults in our revitalization efforts, how we are creating second language speakers, and how we can work in partnership with the University to make a historical impact in the pursuit to revitalize Indigenous languages.

Speaker bio: Ryan DeCaire is Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and was born and raised in Wáhta Mohawk Territory. His work is primarily focused on best practices for developing advanced oral proficiency in adults as well as Kanien’kéha documentation for revitalization. He is a language learner and instructor in immersion and non-immersion environments. Ryan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Centre for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto, a Ph.D. Student in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization Program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, as well as a research partner with Onkwawén:na Kentyóhkwa.