Canada History Week 2021 Learning Tool

In her video from the Voices from Here series, Gwichyà Gwich’in language activist Jacey Firth- Hagen talks about her social media language revitalization initiative, #SpeakGwichintoMe. 1. Watch the video together as a class. 2. Working in small groups, conduct an online search for Indigenous language revitalization efforts (e.g., Word of the Day Twitter accounts, podcasts, hashtag campaigns, Instagram pages, meme makers, TikTok users, people who teach on YouTube, online dictionaries, or Indigenous language smartphone applications). 3. Create a short presentation about the campaign or app, including why it was created, and who it is intended for. Include contextual information about the language and who speaks it, that nation’s history, and the traditional territory of the language. 4. Share a couple of words or phrases you learned with the class. Consider how the campaign or app is similar or different to what Jacey Firth-Hagen shared, and think about accessibility and other strategies to promote it. 5. Conclude by assessing the role of new media and technology in language preservation and revitalization. 11 Activity 3.3 - Exploring Social Media and Indigenous Language Revitalization TEACHER MODIFICATION: Have students share their work informally. Consider partnering students with other first-language peers (or other language learners) and give them the option to give their presentation in the way they feel most comfortable. EXTENSION ACTIVITY: As part of the daily morning announcements, introduce a new word from a local Indigenous language each day. Courtesy Dreamstime.com/Marcel De Grijs/85888318.