A move to help grow Objiwe language in the Rainy River district.
Rainy River District School Board is teaming up with Seven Generations Education Institute and the firm SayItFirst on a new strategy.
The Board’s Education Director Heather Campbell says it about creating the conditions and supports to revitalize and sustain the language.
“We have an urgency. There are elders and knowledge-keepers passing away every year. The language needs to continue. It’s important for students self-identity and their success,” says Campbell.
Campbell says the strategy is a two-pronged approached. Part of it includes some focus on the area’s youngest learners.
“With daycares and head starts we look to increase the amount of Ojibwe instruction within the programs by providing resources that not only kids can learn at school or in the daycare but also at home with their parents.”
There’s also a goal of grooming students to become Indigenous language teachers with the development of an Objibwe language speaking course.
