Lheidli T’enneh First Nation will be getting $570,000 for language revitalization programming in the community.
A Federal Court judge has approved a $2.8-billion settlement agreement between the Canadian government and plaintiffs representing 325 First Nations whose members went to residential schools.
Lheidli T’enneh First Nation was a part of that class-action lawsuit and under the agreement, there will be an initial payment of $200,000 to all 325 First Nations, which will allow them all to create a 10-year plan for how they want to revitalize their language and culture.
“Two years ago, we were invited to be on this class action for a language program and we brought it to council to approve, so I signed off on it, and we have been approved for $200,000 for language, culture, traditions, and wellness,” explained Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan during an announcement video to members.
“That’s not all we have. We have more good news and a way to keep our language alive,” added Logan.
Lheidli T’enneh also applied for language revitalization funding through the First People’s Cultural Council and was approved for $100,000 and an additional $270,000 top-up.
The $270,000 will support Lheidli T’enneh to develop the next generation of language champions so it will create up to five placements to hire up to five youth interns to support current language works and projects.
“This is going to go a long way and I’ve got chills. This is going to do so much for our community and for our youth,” said Chief Logan.
According to the 2022 First Peoples’ Cultural Council’s Report, there are currently there are 310 fluent speakers of Dakelh and 729 semi-speakers for a total of 1,039 speakers.
