‘A approach to keep a denunciation alive’: How a Atikamekw Nation uses Wikipedia to foster the language

What started out as a high propagandize mechanism scholarship plan has grown into a usually active Wikipedia in Canada handling in an Indigenous language.

Wikipetcia Atikamekw Nehiromowin includes over 1,000 articles, sound clips and photos representing life, history and enlightenment of a 3 Atikamekw communities in Quebec. 

“They cover common words, a cities of Quebec, and we also started Atikamekw toponymy [place names] focused on timberland animals, foliage and origin of a community,” pronounced Thérèse Ottawa, co-ordinator of a Wikipetcia plan given 2017. 

“It is a immature Wikipedia, and there is still a lot to do.”

The UNESCO Atlas of a World’s Languages in Danger lists the Atikamekw language’s vitality as vulnerable, where many children pronounce a language, though it might be limited to certain domains like during home or during school.

Ottawa pronounced that’s because a plan like Wikipetcia is critical to give denunciation and enlightenment a participation online where a infancy of immature people are spending their time regulating French as a second language.

“Our immature people are more inclined to take retreat behind their inclination than to go on a territory,” pronounced Ottawa, referring to a approach couple between a denunciation and land.

“Hence, a significance of fasten them around their record for a delivery of denunciation and culture. Wikipedia is, in my opinion, an glorious height for that,” she said.

Benoit Rochon is the former boss of Wikimedia Canada, a official Wikimedia chapter for Canada.. He pronounced while there are Wikipedias in Cree and Inuktitut, a Atikamekw plan is a usually active Wikipedia being used in an Indigenous denunciation in a country. It spent many years being worked on and tested in its incubator before it was expelled in 2017.

The incubator is home to 11 other Indigenous languages including Chipewyan, Innu-aimun, Michif, Gwich’in​​​​​​, Ktunaxa, Nakoda (Assiniboine), Nakoda (Stoney), Northwestern Ojibway, Mohawk, Mi’kmaw, and Siksika.

“It’s fun when we form your possess mom denunciation in Google and a Wikipedia page pops up,” Rochon said.

‘For destiny generations’

Wikipetcia started 6 years ago as a commander plan in Luc Patin’s scholarship category during Otapi High School in Manawan, Que., about 250 kilometres north of Montreal, and developed into a plan that reclaims intergenerational believe by technology across a 3 Atikamekw communities.

Students in Grades 10 and 11 are stability a plan this school year.

Steffi Ottawa, 18, is a Grade 11 tyro who looks forward to contributing to a plan again. She has already written two articles, one about a Innu nation and another about a Quebec city of Assomption. 

“I wish to make some-more equipment this propagandize year in sequence to safety my language,” she said.

“It is critical to safety it for destiny generations. More and some-more immature people are going on a internet, and this is giving them a site where they can perspective it. It’s also a approach to keep a denunciation alive.”

Patin pronounced a students will be focusing on building pages for Atikamekw stories and legends, normal activities and toponymy.

“The work will need a lot of research,” he said. “I do not concentration on a series of articles though on a quality.”

Patin skeleton to rise a tyro journal to assistance younger students review and write in a denunciation — one of a pivotal problems they encountered when they started a project. 

“Atikamekw is essentially an verbal language,” Patin said.

“It is really formidable to obtain created information, so we called on elders to come and tell stories Atikamekw language and enlightenment by their memories.”

While Atikamekw is still a accepted denunciation oral by about 8,000 people opposite Nitaskinan, a normal domain of a Atikamekw Nation, Thérè​​​​​​​se Ottawa pronounced immature relatives are vocalization it reduction to their children during home.

“It does not shun a hazard of disappearance if we are not careful,” she said.

“Thanks to elders, we can safety a language.”

CBC Indigenous is highlighting a few of a many different Indigenous languages that exist opposite a country. Read some-more from a Original Voices project.

Article source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/atikamekw-language-wikipedia-project-1.5229196?cmp=rss