First Nations and Endangered Languages Program |
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Faculty |
Visiting Lecturers |
Musqueam Language & Culture Department |
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Staff |
The First Nations Endangered and Endangered Languages Program (FNEL, formerly known as the First Nations Languages Program, FNLG) was initiated in 1996 as part of University of British Columbia's ongoing commitment to community-based collaboration with First Nations peoples, in recognition of the profound importance of First Nations languages, and the rich cultural traditions they represent. [1] FNEL and UBC’s Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam people. [2]
In 1997, a partnership was initiated between the First Nations Languages Program and the Musqueam Indian Band to promote the development and use of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, Musqueam’s traditional language, through collaborative research initiatives. [3]
Students can pursue a Major or Minor in FNEL. [4] The program regularly offers university-level language courses in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. FNEL students have benefited from various other First Nations languages, including Cree (Plains Algonquian) Kwak̓wala (Northern Wakashan), Nɬe’kepmxcin (Northern Interior Salish), Dakelh Dene (Carrier Athapaskan), Dene Zāge’ (Kaska Athabaskan) and Nuu-chah-nulth (Southern Wakashan). FNEL methodology courses explore the processes and protocols for the documentation, conservation, revitalization, and reclamation of endangered languages, cultures, and Indigenous knowledge systems locally, regionally and internationally.
The First Nations Unicode Font was developed by the UBC FNEL Program under the auspices of a UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF), and is accessible to anyone with the aim of promoting documentation and literacy in First Nations languages.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and Okanagan, in British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1908, it is the oldest university in British Columbia. With an annual research budget of $747.3 million, UBC funds 9,675 projects annually in various fields of study within the industrial sector, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations.
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The Musqueam Nation is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musqueam Indian Band under the Indian Act. "Musqueam" is an anglicization of the Hunquminum name xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, which means "place of the river grass" or "place where the river grass grows".
Patricia Alice Shaw is a Canadian linguist specializing in phonology and known for her work on First Nations languages.
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Mark Turin is a British anthropologist, linguist and occasional radio broadcaster who specializes in the Himalayas and the Pacific Northwest. From 2014–2018, he served as Chair of the First Nations and Endangered Languages Program and Acting Co-Director of the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, cross-appointed between the Department of Anthropology and the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. Turin served as Interim Editor of the journal Pacific Affairs from 2023-2024.
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC) is a facility at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia. The learning centre is built around the refurbished core of the 1925 UBC Main Library. The Centre is named for Irving. K. Barber, a philanthropist and graduate of UBC.
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