Students in northern B.C. could learn Dakelh as early as the next school year as B.C. approves curriculum

Students across British Columbia will soon have the opportunity to learn the Dakelh language as part of their studies as early as the next academic year.

On Monday, officials from the Prince George School District (SD57) and Quesnel School District (SD28), along with First Nations representatives gathered at Hixon Elementary School to celebrate the province's acknowledgement and approval of the Dakelh language curriculum.

The curriculum is designed for students in pre-kindergarten up to grade 12, according to Jennifer Pighin, district vice principal for Indigenous education in SD57, who is responsible for language and culture. Schools across B.C. now have the option of adopting the curriculum. 

The curriculum and teaching materials were designed in collaboration with Dakelh nations, including Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation, Lhtako Dené Nation, Nazko First Nation and Ulkatcho Nation, the Ministry of Education said in an emailed statement to CBC News.

The ministry added it provided a grant to support the curriculum's development, although it did not specify the amount.

Dakelh as an endangered language

Dakelh, also known as Carrier, is spoken across central British Columbia, spanning from Babine, about 404 kilometres northwest of Prince George, to Chilcotin, about 630 kilometres north of Vancouver, according to the First Peoples' Cultural Council.

The language is endangered, with only 625 individuals reportedly speaking it as their first language, according to the latest census data.

Pighin, who has Wet'suwet'un ancestry, said she and other staff members collaborated with First Nations over the past four years to develop the curriculum. 

She said the curriculum's recognition can serve as a model for other school districts across the province that wish to teach the language.

"[The recognition] will be instrumental in ensuring the revitalization of our Dakelh language and the various dialects," she said. "That's exciting news."

Arlene Horutko, a member of Lheidli T'enneh First Nation and an Indigenous language and culture teacher in SD28, said she sees the recognition as another step towards reconciliation and a way to preserve the language.

"It's really important to have the language and culture being taught in school so that we can preserve what we have been left of what our knowledge keepers have given us," Horutko said.

Pighin said the elders who attended the celebration on Monday were elated over the curriculum's formal recognition.

"They were in tears of joy about it and everybody was really appreciative of all the work that was put into it from the communities [and] from our elders," she said.