Donation made to University of Regina to preserve Indigenous languages

Preserving Indigenous languages has been a growing concern for many First Nations, so a donation made to the University of Regina is hoping to help.

Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) and Co-ops across Western Canada have donated $125,000 to the U of R Press to create textbook and audio resources for Dakota and Dene language courses.

The U of R Press was founded in 2013 and publishes books on various topics with an emphasis on Indigenous culture, Canadian history, politics, social justice, and gender and sexuality.

Their goal is to educate others, encourage debate and inspire young people to study humanities by publishing “books that matter.”

Marcel DeCoste, the U of R Press’s director of publications, said the donation will help it continue to do important work of language preservation.

“Producing these language resources is one of the U of R Press’s core missions,” DeCoste said in a media release.

The U of R Press has published other Indigenous language textbooks supporting the study of Cree, Nakoda and Saulteaux languages.

This fall, students could also enrol in a new Mohawk language course at the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv).

Dr. Arok Wolvengrey, the U of R Press’s First Nations Language Reader series editor and a professor at FNUniv, said the Dakota and Dene languages are endangered.

“Having these resources allows our teachers to better instruct their students and inspire new speakers,” he said in the release.

There is a growing need for Indigenous language materials to support preservation, both at the post-secondary levels and for a general audience interested in learning the languages.

Earlier this year, the province pledged $50,000 annually to help fund scholarships for students studying Indigenous language.

Co-op’s donation will be received by U of R Press in instalments of $25,000 over five years.