Native American Language Ideologies: Beliefs, Practices, and Struggles in Indian Country

7. Language Ideology and Aboriginal Language Revitalization in the Yukon, Canada

chapter 7 Language Ideology and Aboriginal Language Revitalization in the Yukon, Canada barbra a. meek I am extremely proud that the Government of Canada is taking steps to make sure these languages, which are integral to the culture and identities of Yukon Aboriginal people, are nurtured and promoted. —Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Hélène Chalifour Scherrer, March 2, 2004 The past twenty years have witnessed a surge of interest among Yukon First Nations in bringing back their heritage languages as well as a significant increase in funding for such projects by the Canadian government. Many programs at the federal and territorial levels now exist to support projects ranging from basic research and development of teaching materials to radio and television programming. The commitment to Aboriginal language revitalization expressed by the territorial government has also generated interest in First Nations cultures by a non-Native public, as demonstrated by such popular events as the Commissioner’s Potlatch and the Yukon International Storytelling Festival. What distinguishes Yukon language revitalization efforts from other endeavors is that many of these initiatives have been jointly conceptualized and guided by government agencies, language and culture ‘‘experts,’’ and Aboriginal peoples. The Canadian government (federal and territorial ) has been consciously shifting its policy away from social and political dependence of Aboriginal peoples and toward First Nations’ self-determination and self-government. This translates into an attempt to have Aboriginal direction in government programs and services. In language planning, this collaboration has resulted in the emergence and 152 barbra a. meek institutionalization of a territory-wide language ideology. This chapter explores the development of this potentially ‘‘counterhegemonic’’ collaboration. Those involved in language revitalization often consider the first step toward reversal to be the assessment of language loss. To assist in assessment Joshua Fishman created the Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS), a scale of linguistic degradation ranging from no intergenerational transmission to contexts where the threatened language predominates . Fishman linked government with his last two stages of disruption : Stage 2, where language X is used ‘‘in lower governmental services and mass media but not in the higher spheres of either,’’ and Stage 1, where there is ‘‘some use of [language X] in higher level educational, occupational, governmental and media efforts (but without the additional safety provided by political independence)’’ (1991:105, 107). Languages at these stages are less disrupted than at any other stage. However, Fishman remarked that these ‘‘lower’’ and ‘‘higher’’ levels of government are the most closely regulated by existing regimes ‘‘because of their importance in the formation and preservation of integrative attitudes, opinions , identities and the topmost skills and statuses’’ (1991:106). This sentiment , and ‘‘hegemony’’ in general, have been central concerns of the emerging language ideological literature on dominant language ideologies (e.g., see Briggs 1998; House 2002; Kroskrity 1998, 2000c; Silverstein 1998b). This suggests that any dominant bureaucratic institution will closely monitor the incorporation of alternative voices into its programs and rhetoric, including language planning and the conceptualization of language. The language situation in the Yukon provides an interesting case study because of the government’s explicit commitment to the integration of First Nations voices, the modification of its own bureaucratic rhetoric and practices as a result, and its mandate to transfer the control of and responsibility for certain institutions, through self-governing agreements, to the First Nations. Because of this collaboration, we might predict that First Nations people in the Yukon will have had a greater influence on the ideologization of their languages and language more generally, including at ‘‘lower’’ and ‘‘higher’’ governmental levels. The final analysis will be made when the full transfer of government control, or ‘‘devolution,’’ has occurred. What we can see as the transfers take place is evidence of language revitalization in the yukon 153 Aboriginal self-determination through the transformation of the state’s discourse about Aboriginal languages. In this chapter I examine the language ideological dimensions of the institutional changes both historically and discursively, especially through themes articulated in government publications such as legislation, program reports, evaluations, project proposals, and notes from language meetings. The first section of this chapter presents the historical precursors of language revitalization in the Yukon, culminating in the Yukon Languages Act, the creation of Aboriginal Language Services, and the Yukon Aboriginal Languages Conference. The second section describes the conference itself, the ideological themes represented in speeches by participants, and the implications of its motto, ‘‘We...