We would like to honour and acknowledge FPCC’s outgoing Board Chair Laax̱ Lo’op (Cynthia Jensen Fisk)
We would like to say thank you and raise our hands to our outgoing Board Chair, Laax̱ Lo’op (Cynthia Jensen Fisk), for six years of service on the FPCC Board, with three of those as Board Chair. Laax̱ Lo’op provided leadership to the Board and FPCC in a confident, humble and good way that supported FPCC to deliver effective programs to communities and increase awareness of the critical importance of protecting, revitalizing and enhancing Indigenous languages, arts and cultural heritage in B.C.
Laax̱ Lo’op is gisg’haast (Fireweed Clan), from the house of G̱eel, in the village of Ansbayaxw. She started her language journey in 2009 by creating the Doreen Jensen Memorial Gitx’san Language Class in memory of her mother, Doreen Jensen. In 2010, she participated in FPCC’s Mentor-Apprentice Program to learn Gitx’sanimx ̱ from her aunt, Barbra Harris. “I started my relationship with FPCC by applying for a Mentor-Apprentice grants,” says Laax̱ Lo’op. “The stars just aligned for it. When things happen, they just happen.”
Hahla’ilst jabim (The work we did)
During Laax̱ Lo’op’s later tenure as Board Chair, FPCC saw incredible growth in programs and supports for communities, including a provincial government investment of $50 million (2018), the HELISET TŦE SḰÁL ‘Let the Languages Live’ – International Conference on Indigenous Languages (2019), the new First Peoples’ Map, development of the FPCC Heritage department, and FPCC’s involvement in the United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages (2019).
Sa dax̱gyat diit (They made it stronger)
Laax̱ Lo’op’s commitment and creativity have supported First Nations communities across B.C. to revitalize their languages, engage with and support Indigenous arts practices, and develop cultural heritage projects. “We need to work together,” says Laax̱ Lo’op. “One way that we do that is by having people on the Advisory Committee and Board who are in the villages, who are on the reserves and have that knowledge. We benefit as a Board and organization and are better able to serve the needs that arise.”
T’oyaxsi’m (we thank) and raise our hands to Laax̱ Lo’op.
“It has been an honour and privilege to work with Laax̱ Lo’op over the past six years,” says FPCC CEO Tracey Herbert. “We have faced challenges and worked through them together, to witness the incredible amount of revitalization work happening by Indigenous people across B.C. We are deeply grateful for her contributions towards a future in which our languages, arts and cultures are thriving once again.”
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