Language revitalization - Indigenous languages in Saskatchewan: Home

There are six thousand languages spoken today, but thousands are disappearing, threatening the world’s linguistic diversity. When a language is lost an entire worldview is lost with it, including cultural practices, oral literary traditions, philosophical systems, and environmental and medical knowledge. Because the loss of indigenous languages is part of the colonial oppression of indigenous peoples, language revitalization is also a human rights issue (Leanne Hinton, The Green Book of Language Revitalization, 2013).

“Language can disrupt the glue for colonial thinking which has been fundamentally dehumanising to indigenous people. Although we can’t stop the bludgeon of forced assimilation, we can decolonise and re-indigenise everything we do, recognising that in our worldview, spiritual, physical and mental health are intertwined. This is where real healing will come from; the language is a powerful tool in this work." (Anton Treur, Interview with Al Jazeera, Dec 19, 2019)

This guide was initially created by Stephanie Hanson as part of a internship project for INTS 380,3 - Winter 2025.