FPCC’s Youth Empowered Speakers (YES) program provides language immersion learning and paid internships for B.C. First Nations students working towards a career in language revitalization.
The First Peoples’ Cultural Council’s YES program provides post-secondary students with up to $32,320 in funding to learn one of the 36 B.C. First Nations languages. This program combines one-on-one Mentor-Apprentice language immersion learning with a paid internship at a First Nations organization. Register for our upcoming information session to learn more about the program and how you can earn while you learn!
Applications are being accepted until January 13, 2026.
Learning Through Immersion
hakaƛ, from Ehattesaht Chinehkint, completed one-on-one language immersion sessions through the YES program while studying to become an educator. She is teaching nuučaanu̓ɫ to her children in her home as that is how she believes the languages will be saved, by passing it on the next generation. The YES program provided an important opportunity to strengthen her language fluency and build language skills to her support future career. Listen below to excerpts from a CBC interview about learning and teaching her language.
“This program has been really great because I can stay in school and then still do the lessons with my mentor outside of my classes.” said hakaƛ. “I designed the immersion sessions myself. I use a lot of photos that I take of me and my children, and then my mentor and I will look at these photos together and talk about them in the language.”
Learn more about hakaƛ and her language journey in the 2022 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages, pp 28-32.
Eligibility
Applicants must be B.C. First Nations Youth aged 18-35 who are enrolled in post-secondary education and living in B.C. They must also have a commitment to learning and sharing one of the 36 First Nations languages in B.C. through their future career.
The goal of the YES program is for youth to learn their language while preparing for a career in language revitalization in one of three streams:
- Stream 1: Early Childhood Immersion Educator for ECE students.
- Stream 2: Language Immersion Teacher for BEd. students.
- Stream 3: Community Language Revitalizationist for post-secondary students to develop their language proficiency while gaining skills for a variety of community-based career options in language revitalization.
Info Session
Are you interested in applying but would like to know more? Join our online information session on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. PT. We’ll provide additional application information and the opportunity to ask questions.
Please register for the online information session in advance on the program page.
How to Apply
Prior to starting your application, please visit the Youth Empowered Speakers page to watch the information video on how to apply, access links to the guidelines and application, and registration link for the info session.
FPCC Youth Empowered Speakers applications are accepted on the FPCC Grant Portal.
If you have questions or need any support completing your application or using the grant portal, please contact the YES program contact: Beckie Wesley at yes@fpcc.ca
We are here to provide support
If you would like assistance with your application or would like to request a review of your application with feedback from staff, please email yes@fpcc.ca by December 5, 2025.
Share the news
Please share this opportunity with your community and networks by downloading and sharing the program poster.
Funder
This program is made possible with funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage as a result of the Government of Canada’s Indigenous Languages Act, and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation through the Province of British Columbia.
Learn more
Find more information on FPCC’s Language Programs here.
Read community stories about Language grant recipients here.
View Language resources here.
Visit the Language Toolkits here.
View all current FPCC funding opportunities here.
Share Your Story!
Do you have a story about the work your community is doing to revitalize First Nations arts, languages, cultures and heritage in B.C.? We want to hear from you! Please send your story to info@fpcc.ca and check back as we post more stories about the good work being done across the province.
Connect with Us
To receive FPCC news and funding announcements, please sign up for our email list here.
To view all current FPCC funding opportunities please visit our Grants page.
Follow FPCC on social media for updates: Facebook | YouTube