French is out and Okanagan First Nations language is at a Kelowna independent school. Studio9 School of the Arts, which provides K-12 education in Kelowna, announced Wednesday that it is replacing French as a second language instruction at the school with Nsyilxcen — the endangered language of the local First Nations. “There are so many great reasons to offer the Nsyilxcen language at Studio9,” says school society executive director Michael Guzzi. “The main reason is the fact that Nsyilxcen is the true original history of this land.” “It is perfect for an arts-focused school because of the rich cultural and artistic nature of the language. Our school staff has taken Indigenous principles of learning seriously, embracing the richness of our First Peoples culture and teaching,” she added. “This is a logical step that we believe enriches the school curriculum and the inclusive nature of Studio9.” The move makes Studio9 one of only a handful of non-Indigenous schools to offer an Indigenous language as the main or only second language in their school. The class will be delivered to grades four through nine by Westbank First Nations speaker and archaeologist Jasmine Peone. He partnered with the school last year to provide Nsyilxcen language presentations to various classrooms. It was so well received that the decision was made to officially commit to the language program, says Studio9. The language learning process will be “as experiential as possible” so that students and pupils experience both the language and culture of the Syilx people. In 2017 it was estimated that there were about 200 fluent Nsyilxcen speakers and about 1,000 to 2,000 students. These numbers have likely increased in recent years as efforts are made to preserve the language. UBC Okanagan has begun offering a Bachelor’s degree in Indigenous language fluency. “We are extremely proud and grateful to have such an experienced member of the Westbank First Nations share their language and culture with our students,” said Principal Cadence Trites. “We believe that education naturally creates the opportunity to create mutually respectful relationships between people of different cultures and beliefs. Learning the traditional culture and language of our local indigenous peoples is a big step towards ensuring that the journey of reconciliation continues with our youth.”
