FPCC’s Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP) restores the natural cycle of language learning in communities as apprentices become mentors to the next generation of speakers.
Rosalie MacDonald is a fluent Nedut’en speaker, language teacher and 2019 graduate of FPCC’s Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP) from Lake Babine Nation in Burns Lake. She is now mentoring her son, Brian Lacerte, in their first year as a MAP team. Rosalie’s journey from apprentice to teacher and mentor is an example of the long-term impacts of strengthening your language skills through MAP.
Rosalie was raised by her late grandmother, Marianne Austin, who introduced language in their home. In the first year of her MAP apprenticeship, she was mentored by her mother-in law, Esther MacDonald.
“She worked with me for the first two years, which was amazing,” says Rosalie. “We did a lot of things together, including our yearly harvest.”
When Marianne was unable to continue, Rosalie worked with her husband Brian MacDonald and completed the final year of the program while being mentored by her mother, Louise Lacerte. The experience of working on the language with her mother strengthened their relationship. Louise attended residential school and didn’t teach her children the language when they were young. She is proud that she later had the opportunity to teach the language to her daughter. Rosalie is now following in her footsteps by sharing the language with her son.
Rosalie has dedicated her career to sharing her language. She was an elementary school teacher while an apprentice in MAP. She shared the language in the classroom, as well as at home and in the community. She now teaches the Nedut’en Language Fluency Diploma Program at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT). Rosalie’s most recent students included 63 adult learners, who all earned a certificate and a diploma. She is also working on her PhD in Education in the Language and Literacy Program at UBC.
Rosalie’s son Brian grew up hearing the Nedut’en language in his home in Lake Babine Nation, where his grandparents and father are fluent speakers. Over time, Rosalie saw her son’s interest in learning the language grow. As his language mentor, she spends 10–15 hours a week with him teaching through immersion activities. Within a few weeks of starting the program, he was able to understand and speak a few sentences.
“Seeing my mom teach in the NVIT program, her and my grandma, and hearing them do Zoom meetings every night, I’d always hear the language in my house,” says Brian. “And it’s just one thing that really spoke to me after seeing how many people were into it. I just felt the need to take it on upon myself, to teach it to my peers.”
Brian and Rosalie were recent participants in FPCC’s annual MAP orientation and training session in Kelowna. These sessions provide MAP participants with teachings and resources on how to learn the language through immersion, schedule time together and set learning goals. The program also connects first-year teams with more experienced teams to learn and share good practices.
“It’s really something that I’m wanting to pursue longer because coming here made me feel the power in how many different languages you hear in this language program,” Brian reflected. “It was really a thing that made me want to pursue it and see how truly beautiful it is when people speak their native tongue.”
Dik ‘alewhlhdzin “Lift Each Other Up”
The effects of MAP in the community are generational, repairing the natural flow of language from one generation to the next. Rosalie and her family are a beautiful example of the ripple effect that can spread from MAP participants. Brian is now able to speak with his fluent father and grandparents and Rosalie with her mother, allowing the lessons and teachings of the Elders to be passed down through the language to the next generation of speakers.
Rosalie and her family have become role models in the community. Rosalie’s husband, Brian MacDonald, is also mentoring their daughter, Marianne MacDonald, who is enrolled in the B.Ed. program at UBC through NVIT. Marianne is in her third and final year of MAP. They show how using the language can encourage others to learn, strengthen cultural identity, connect with their heritage and communicate with their Elders. Brian encourages other young people to get involved in language learning, while he follows in his mother’s footsteps and pursues a future in language teaching.
As a teacher, Rosalie knows the importance of support and resources like MAP to give apprentices dedicated time to learn their language.
“It is vital for the government to fund our First Nations languages throughout B.C. and Canada because it is our heritage and language,” says Rosalie. “It is our right to speak. It is our culture, our identity. I really hope the funds increase so that a lot of other First Nations apprentices and mentors can take on this opportunity to revitalize our languages.”
Mentor-Apprentice Program – Apply Now!
Are you interested in learning your language or are you a fluent speaker who would like to mentor a language learner? The Mentor-Apprentice Program connections provide one-on-one language immersion that supports B.C. First Nations learners become fluent speakers by bringing their language into their daily lives at home and on the land.
MAP is now accepting applications. The deadline to apply is October 15, 2024. Please visit the MAP program page for more details, guidelines, application link and to view the application support webinar video.
Learn More
Explore more stories about language projects and other program areas here.
When possible, language recordings were shared from the public Nedut’en Lake Babine Nation site on FirstVoices.com using Soundcite.
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.
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Do you have a story about the work your community is doing to revitalize First Nations languages, arts and cultural 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.
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