How Fortnite is being used to teach and preserve Indigenous language in Manitoba

A popular video game is being used to help preserve and teach an Indigenous language in Manitoba.

Using video games to help preserve Indigenous language. That is what the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre is working to launch later this year.

Turtle Island Trials was officially presented on Wednesday, showing people how the new game can be used to teach the Anishinaabemowin language.

Karl Hildebrandt, an education technology facilitator for the Manitoba First Nation school system, said the game is built inside Fortnite, using Unreal Engine.

“Fortnite has been around for years, and it’s just got such a following,” said Hildebrandt. “Every First Nation community that I stepped foot in, everybody’s heard of Fortnite and they’re very excited by Fortnite. So why not?”

While Fortnite is the hook for the game, Hildebrandt said the game is about preserving language for generations.

“But we also want First Nation youth to see themselves in this game and possibly that will help their pride in their identity and that can grow.”

Turtle Island Trials starts in a village where an Elder tells the main character they need to defeat the presence of a Wendigo, said Hildebrandt.

A Wendigo is a folklore spirit associated with greediness and famine.

“To be able to do that, you have to achieve and embody the seven teachings, and they’re all challenges that are scattered throughout the island,” said Hildebrandt. “Once they do that, they move on to the next challenge and so forth until the final culminating challenge, the turtle, and they have to pull in all those teachings together to thwart the presence of the Wendigo.”

Hildebrandt said players learn more vocabulary as the game progresses and English slowly gets replaced.

He notes they aren’t just learning the language through reading. It’s also shared through audio, through context associated with the game, and if they forget a word, they can use a dictionary to help them remember.

“Then they have to act on that language by doing the challenge, and that’s where the educational volume is,” he said.

The hope is the game will be available in all First Nations schools in the province by September.

The game is designed for students from Grades 5 to 12.

Hildebrandt said once the game is published in their account, it will be available for free to anyone in the world to play.