Bachelor of arts in language fluency starts next year in partnership with Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute
CBC Indigenous: A new bachelor of arts degree in Nisga’a language fluency will be offered at the University of Northern British Columbia starting next September.
A statement from the university says the four-year undergraduate degree is the first of its kind in northern B.C. and will give students an immersive education with about 70 per cent of the courses having a Nisga’a component.
The Nisga’a people, who live in the Nass Valley in the northwestern part of the province, were the first to sign a modern treaty in B.C. in a landmark agreement that came into effect in May 2000.
The university is teaming up with the Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute, a post-secondary facility in the Nass Valley run through the Nisga’a Lisims government, where certificate and diploma programs in the Nisga’a language are already offered.
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Institute CEO Deanna Nyce says it’s exciting to witness students becoming fluent and using their language skills in public.
The statement says the four-year undergraduate degree will help ensure the long-term vitality of the Nisga’a language.
B.C. Minister of Post-Secondary Education Selina Robinson says investing in such programs is critical for strengthening Indigenous language revitalization, while moving toward meaningful reconciliation.
“Together, we are creating a province where Indigenous students, and through them their communities, can reconnect with their language as a way to reclaim their history and culture and reach their full potential.”
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