At bi-weekly Secwepemctsín meetings, Elders nurture and expand the language

On a Friday in Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, six Kyé7es from four different communities gather in a classroom, greeting each other in their language.

“Tsecwinúcw-k,” they each say as they make their way into the bright room — the phrase serving as a good morning remark that translates to “we survived the night.”

Once everyone is seated in comfortable office chairs with snacks and coffee in hand, they face a large screen where the day’s agenda items are listed and ready to be discussed. 

On every second Friday, Elders and teachers from the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc’s Language and Culture department gather to discuss Secwepemctsín (the Shuswap language). They create new Secwépemc words, work on proper spelling, ensure grammar is correct and much more.

The room where their bi-weekly meetings take place is teeming with language — each wall is covered with alphabet charts that display different categories such as animals and foods. 

On this day in May, a local business asked for translations of their vision and mission statements, which prompts a lively discussion among the group — there is no direct translation in Secwepemctsín for the word “mission.”

With a class filled with Elders from multiple communities — both in person and some checking in through Zoom — the program leaders engage in a question and answer session. Through plenty of ideas, the group works together to find the best wording to ensure the translations are as accurate as possible.

While they have plenty to focus on, the prompts are met with a breakdown of each word to find the correct translation needed. 

Ethan Pincott, a curriculum development specialist who furthers research with the Elders and documents the language, is ready at his computer to take notes based on the Elders’ answers.

“We can go through this and see what you guys think, I guess, and see if there’s anything we should change, or say differently,” Pincott says.

For the word “mission,” the phrase “Xwtśilc re T̓ektén̓-kt” — meaning “striving on our way” — is proposed, while “vision” is translated to “stúmen.”

After reciting the proposed translations, language co-ordinator Brandi Phillips refers back to the Elders.

“Héqen mé7e?” she asks — meaning “maybe yes?” 

The Kyé7es constantly look to each other as they give their proposed ideas, asking if they have their translations correct or if anyone knows of a better description. Through the morning, each Elder shares their opinions and ideas — the meeting is filled with plenty of humour as they bounce ideas off one another. 

“Give us time to think,” one Elder says, laughing and smiling at the others in the room. 

That energy passes into the language meetings, with the Elders helping create Secwépemc sentences between their jokes with one another. Diane Sandy from St’uxwtéws is one of the Elders who frequently attends the class to offer her knowledge of Secwepemctsín.

“I have fun with it, as Brandi would tell you,” she says with a laugh. “We have lots of fun.”

‘If you really want to learn, you have to go for it’

Phillips notes that she referred to Secwépemc dictionaries and other resources which were created by Elders such as Marianne Ignace and late Kyé7e Mona Jules which include previous translations to get a rough idea onto paper for the Elders to work from.

Sandy has been involved in revitalizing Secwepemctsín for around 40 years. She credits her sister Lorraine as the one who got her into teaching the language as they both grew up being spoken to in the language at home. 

Her life is engrained with culture as she is often called upon to attend opening ceremonies and events where she prays or sings while using the language to start in a good way. She also travels to regularly attends powwows where she dances in the traditional style.

Sandy and her sister began teaching to children at the preschool level, where Sandy notes her sister did most of the talking while her knowledge of the language “automatically came back.”

“Language is so important, it should be the utmost first in everybody’s school,” Sandy says.

Today she uses the language regularly to talk with friends who include some fellow Elders that also contribute to the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc language programs.

“I phone them up, and we have laughs,” she says. 

“Laughter is good, laughter is healing.”

Secwepemctsín is an important part of the Elders’ lives, with many of the knowledge keepers coming from homes where it was the language that was primarily spoken. It was only through their times attending residential “schools” that English became more prevalent in their lives.

Elder Antoinette Archie of Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation says she grew up speaking the language and heard it spoken throughout the community.

“We used to run around and speak Secwépemc, and our Elders would be telling us stories in Secwépemc. And they were great teachers, you know, our Elders of a long time ago,” Archie says.

“It’s just that the residential school has done a lot of damage to our Secwepemctsín — a lot of it is lost and some of them know the Secwépemc, but they can’t speak it anymore because of what happened.”

Secwépemc Elders have since worked hard to revitalize the language and continue to do so through casual conversation, classes in their communities and collaborations with others from the different Secwépemc nations.

Archie learned to read and write in Secwepemctsín later in life through Marianne Ignace, and still uses that knowledge to help her teach.

“It’s pretty tough, but if you really want to learn, you have to go for it. That’s why I got my teaching degree because I’ve been thinking about helping my people because of the loss of the language.”

‘It’s important to use the alphabet’

Secwepemctsín is in the Salishan language family, and is spoken throughout various communities and urban areas in the central interior of “B.C.”

Every four years, the First Peoples Cultural Council publishes a report on Indigenous languages. In 2022, 16 Secwépemc communities responded to detail the number of fluent and semi-speakers. There were reported to be 166 fluent speakers and 570 semi-speakers for a total of 736 Secwepemctsín speakers. It also notes that of the reported population of 10,090, there are 1,601 language learners. 

With the Elders coming from different communities they each offer their unique knowledge. There are multiple different dialects of Secwepemctsín and with a wide representation at the meetings, they are sure to encompass the differences.

The collaboration showcases how the revitalization of the language is a community effort.

Archie explains that other teachers in her school also help the children learn Secwepemctsín throughout the day as the language class only has around 30 minutes per session. 

“She learned how to do the calendar, and because we have only half hour in Kindergarten, she does the calendar all in Secwépemc with the kids,” Archie says, which gives them time to focus on the alphabet and other language lessons with the class.

“It’s important to use the alphabet because, you know, in the alphabet, it has all the sounds of the Secwepemctsín.”

To enhance the learning process, Archie notes that they even have community members come into the classroom and show the kids the ways they use traplines and how they hunt while using the Secwépemc words which relates the language back to culture and traditions, bringing it full circle. 

Archie also received help from many Secwépemc Elders to help translate songs and create season based curriculum that encompassed the land based traditions.

“You want to learn something and or know about something, ask the Elders,” she says.

“It’s a good thing we had a lot of Elders that we got help from.”

Now, she is a part of the Elders’ group who help new teachers that are continuing to revitalize and enhance the language. It’s a circle of learning and teaching that allows for the language to grow.

‘Me7 wíktsen’

For Sandy, over her years teaching, she has taught many students who she says still keep in touch and are engaged in the culture. In the future, Sandy hopes to have more young ones learning the language fluently.

“I’d sure like to meet a young girl or a boy – instead of talking in English, you say ‘weyt-k, lé7-en-k t̓ucw?’” she says, which translates to ‘hello, how are you?’ 

Archie also mentions the young children who are engaged in the learning process and how much they retain while learning from an early age.

“They are not afraid of saying the words,” Archie says. She adds that she has a very welcoming class where mistakes happen but that’s part of learning and as long as they continue, they thrive in the language. 

That process continues through to the post-secondary level at Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc and Archie says they are doing very well in their learning and teaching journey.

“I’m pretty proud of them. You know, they seem to be doing very well with the language down there.”

Once their booklet was complete, the day finished with more laughs, an endless discussion to fill each other in on upcoming events and well wishes over lunch.

Before everyone left, a quick request was made to translate “thank you to all my friends who recharge my heart.” With a good phrase to end on, the Elders made their way out as they discussed seeing each other at their next meeting.

“Me7 wíktsen,” rang out as each Elder left, meaning “I will see you.”