Fund Wolastoqey immersion schools to end linguistic genocide: Grand Chief

Our language we call “Wolastoqewi-Latuwewakon” is encountering genocide. The heartbreaking reality is that there are less than one hundred fluent speakers left in our nation and every month we are losing ‘’human dictionaries.” While other important issues are likewise vital, the fact of total language loss is real and critical. We, as Wolastoqewiyik, need to come to grips with the certainty of the ongoing act of language genocide we are facing.

Church and state— the federal and provincial governments — were and are responsible for implementing the genocide on our language, culture and ceremonies. They need to step up and take responsibility and fund our Nation so we can train our people to teach in an immersion school setting. In addition, they need to provide infrastructure money to build schools in our communities to run immersion programs. They need to do what is right!

The last thing we need is further research on language loss from institutions and scholars to declare the obvious. “We know the Truth; we are losing our language and fluent speakers.”

Our Māori Relatives from Aotearoa (New Zealand) were in a similar critical state a few decades ago, having only a few fluent speakers left. Miraculously with dedicated and driven Māori Grandmothers, they saved their beautiful language. In Aotearoa, each community possesses an immersion school from Pre-K to Grade 12 plus Te Wānanga o Raukawa University offers immersion up to a masters level.

I personally don’t want to wait until we are down to a few speakers to frantically save our language.

The challenging question remains; “What are we going to do about It?”

In Peace & Friendship,

Wolastoqewi Kci-Sakom spasaqsit possesom – Ron Tremblay

(Wolastoq Grand Chief morningstar burning)

Kahkakuhsuwakutom naka Malsomuwakutom (Crow & Wolf Clan)

Wolastoq Nil naka Nil Wolastoq – I am Wolastoq and Wolastoq is me