A new mobile app has launched that allows users to learn words and phrases in a traditional Indigenous language in order to promote retention and growth of Indigenous language and culture.
The Challenge4Change app teaches users Anishinaabemowin, which was once the everyday language of many Indigenous communities in Ontario with close to 100 dialects. The app focuses on a dialect of the language that was concentrated near the Great Lakes.
The app was created by Challenge4Change, a fundraising program based in Ontario that focuses on the retention and growth of Indigenous language and culture.
“The Challenge4Change is going to allow us to build an online community to preserve many of the words, as well as offer, to many people that wish to learn our language, a resource and access at any given time,” Duke Peltier, Ogimaa, or Chief, of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday.
Canadian Census data from 2006 showed that 21.4 per cent of Indigenous people were able to carry a conversation in the language. By 2016, the number had dropped to 15.6 per cent.
“The institutions that were established didn’t promote the use of language, so our younger generations were not encouraged to pick it up, so now we’re left with trying to reintroduce and make it relevant for the younger generations,” said Peltier.
June is National Indigenous History Month, which has inspired a number of efforts to preserve and promote Indigenous history and culture. On Wednesday, the National Film Board of Canada announced that it was backing more than 35 Indigenous led films. Earlier this month, Ryerson University launched the first ever Indigenous-led think tank .
Despite language fluency deteriorating, Peltier remains hopeful that Indigenous languages make a recovery.
“I’m optimistic because there’s resources being put towards the preservation and revitalization of our languages,” said Peltier. “Language is a very important cultural tie and that’s where our identity is derived from.”
The Challenge4Change app is available on the App Store and on Google Play. Challenge4Change is continuing to fundraise for other Indigenous culture initiatives. Learn more here.
