Festival aims to promote indigenous languages (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

*Festival aims to promote indigenous languages
*
By Drew Fossum, The StarPhoenix October 30, 2012
Canada

Kids sang O Canada in Cree and "If you're happy and you know it' in Nakawe
at City Park Collegiate as part of a festival educating kids on indigenous
languages.

The festival on Monday couldn't be more timely as Statistics Canada
released census data recently that highlighted a decline in the number of
people speaking indigenous languages across Canada.

"A lot of our young kids don't know their language, so there is a
generation losing their language," said Laurie McAuley of the Saskatoon
Tribal Council.

According to Statistics Canada, populations who designated Cree and Dene as
their mother tongues remain stable.

Saskatchewan is home to the third-largest population of indigenous speakers
and has the largest percentage of Cree and Dene speakers at 28 and 71 per
cent, respectively. But the festival wasn't just about language, McAuley
said.

Read more:
http://www.leaderpost.com/Festival+aims+promote+indigenous+languages/7467468/story.html#ixzz2AojP2xv3
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