How Lennox Island is revitalizing the Mi'kmaw language, one generation at a time

It's not unusual these days to hear students speaking Mi'kmaw at John J. Sark Memorial School on Lennox Island First Nation. 

"Wela'lioq," says a classroom of students in unison, which means "thank you." 

"Nmu'ltes," they say. That means "see you later."

Over the past few years, the community has been taking steps to revitalize the Mi'kmaw language on Lennox Island. Kids are learning it in daycare and in school. Mi'kmaw signs are also stationed throughout the community. 

"It's really nice because elder community members notice when the students are using the language and are coming home to share what they've learned, sharing phrases, they're identifying animals," said Kim Colwill, the First Nation's director of education. 

"They're using the Mi'kmaw language and it's beautiful."

Practising Mi'kmaw culture, including everything from drumming to speaking the language, was illegal at the Lennox Island First Nation's school as recently as the mid-1980s. 

But now, it is quite the opposite. The language is everywhere. The school's mascot is the Muin, or "bear," and reminders of how to say phrases such as "can I get a drink of water?" are always nearby.

"We know that it's really important for our kids to be immersed in the language," said Jamie Thomas, Lennox Island's director of culture and tourism. 

"So we're working really hard to make that a reality." 

The focus these days is on including the language as much as possible during routine activities. 

Colwill said the school has a language teacher dedicated to teaching Mi'kmaw. In many cases though, homeroom teachers are learning it alongside their students. 

"It is the expectation of staff within the school to carry on the language that's been learned during those sessions," she said.

"So different greetings, asking questions, basic phrases, numbers, colours, weather — all of those pieces are an expectation."