First Nations Languages

(Checked: 07-February-09 Updated: 18-March-09)

British Columbia

First Nations Languages of British Columbia (Yinka Dene Language Institute)
British Columbia First Nation Directory (First Nation Information Project) Listed by tribal council, the directory includes the linguistic affiliation of nations.

Athapascan Language Family: Dalkelh, Dena-thah , Dunne-za, Kaska Dena, Sekani, Tagish, Tahltan, Tsilhqot'in, Tutchone, Nat'ooten, Wet'suwet'en

Kaska
Yukon Native language Centre courses in Tlingit, Tagish, Kaska and Tutchone.

Wakashan Language Family: Haisla, Heiltsuk, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Oweekeno, Dididaht, Pacheedaht

Haisla
Haisla Language Bibliography (Yinka Dene Language Institute)

Salishan Language Family: Comox, Halkomelem, Nlaka'pamux, Nuxalk, Okanagan, Secwepemc, Se'shalt, Squamish, Stl'atl'imx, Straits Salish

Salishan Language Conference, Aug. 18-20, 1999 (Simon Fraser University and Secwepemc Cultural Education Society)
Salishan Language Family Index Ethnologue

Halkomelem
Salish 100 Language Materials (University of Victoria)
Halkomelem Bibliography (Yinka Dene Language Institute)

Brian Thom's Coast Salish Home Page Languages Spoken In The Gulf of Georgia Area

Okanagan
University of Montana, Linguistics Program The Okanagan-Colville Language Learning Project

Secwepemc
Secwepemc Cultural Education Society Language Dept General information regarding S.C.E.S. language Department

Stl'atl'imx
Subject and Topic in St'�t'imcets (Lillooet Salish) M.A. Thesis, University of British Columbia,1994 Taylor Roberts. Revised version to appear in the International Journal of American Linguistics 65:3 (July 1999): 275-302.

Tsimshian Language Family: Tsimshian, Gitxsan, Nisga'a

Tsimshian
Sm'algyax Living Legacy Talking Dictionary (University of Northern British Columbia) Over 6,000 entries including sound files and images
Sm'algyax - "The Real Language" Kitsumkalum Tsimshian Tribe
Tsimshian Language Families Canadian Museum of Civilization
Penutian Language Family Tree Ethnologue

Algonkian Language Family

Cree
Cree Language Family Trees Ethnologue
Plains Cree Language Website
Speak Cree

Isolate Languages: Haida, Ktunaxa, Tlingit

Haida Na-Dene Language Family Trees: Ethnologue

Tlingit
Tlingit Language Family: (Canadian Museum of Civilization)
Yukon Native language Centre Offers courses in Tlingit, Tagish, Kaska and Tutchone languages

Chinook
Chinook Trade Jargon A short history and some vocabulary

First Nations Languages in Canada

Canada's Aboriginal Languages (Statistics Canada)
Ethnologue Canada Statistical description of First Nations languages in Canada
First Voices Archive contains thousands of text entries in many diverse Aboriginal writing systems, enhanced with sounds, pictures and videos
Languages of First Nations, M�tis and Inuit Collections (University of Saskatchewan)
Naskapi Lexicon (Naskapi Development Corporation, Qu�bec)

Michif Language

Michif Language (Manitoba M�tis Federation, Winnipeg) Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI) report of Michif Languages Program
Michif Language Lessons (The Metis Resource Centre)
Native Languages of the Americas: Michif (Mitchif, Metis Creole, French Cree) List of Michif Language Resources

Retention
Finding Our Talk Televison series produced by Mushkeg Media that showcases different First Nations' strategies to retain and revitalize their language.
First People�s Cultural Foundation An organization that works to revitalize Aboriginal languages

Aboriginal Languages Education

Athabascan Open University Courses offered in Cree
Teaching Indigenous Languages (Northern Arizona University)
First Nations Language Instructor Certificate (First Nations University of Canada)
FirstVoices Language Archives First Peoples' Cultural Foundation. FirstVoices is a group of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching & culture revitalization.
Technology and Indigenous Languages Language Learning & Technology . Special Issue May 2002
University of British Columbia First Nations Language Courses
University of Northern British Columbia First Nations Language Courses
The Way We Speak (Manitoba Education and Training) An Annotated Bibliography of Language Resources in Manitoba [pdf]
Yukon Native language Centre Courses in Northwest Coast languages such as Tlingit and Tagish

Research

First Nations English Dialects Exploratory Project Proceedings, Jessica Bell, Barbara Bernhardt, and Jeff Deby
AIATSIS Thesauri (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies)
Endangered Languages (International Clearing House)
Native American Languages Will Karkavelas, Osaka University. Includes links to publications, language statistics, organizations, language discussion sites, revitilization efforts, and online dictionaries.
WWW Virtual Library - American Indian Language Resources US, Canada, Latin America and general language resources

Native Languages in United States

Ethnologue USA Statistical descriptions of languages spoken in the US
Interactive ALR (American Language Reprint) This online resource can be used for the comparative study of Native American languages. Vocabularies and word lists are from Evolution Publishing's ALR series.
Native Languages of the Americas A compendium of native languages
Native Languages Page Native language and related sites by Lisa Mitten

Associations

The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas Contains information about the SSILA, its work, publications, and projects.

Last modified: Mar 18, 09

The University of British Columbia

First Nations Languages