New data from Statistics Canada suggests the number of people who can speak an Indigenous language has dropped slightly in the country.
However, the agency said comparing census years should be done with caution as the COVID-19 pandemic hampered its ability to fully enumerate First Nations and other Indigenous communities.
Statistics Canada released data from the 2021 census that shows about 243,000 people reported being able to speak an Indigenous language, which is a drop from the 2016 census when that figure was around 251,000.
For the 2021 census, it reported being unable to collect information from 63 First Nations reserves and other communities. Many did not provide permission for the agency to enter.
Officials have said efforts to collect census data from Indigenous communities was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as heat waves and wildfires that swept British Columbia and northern Ontario.
They also flagged how participation in the census had been “dampened” by the uncovering of unmarked graves at the former sites of residential schools.
Wednesday’s data release on language comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has described promoting and preserving Indigenous languages as a priority. In 2019, it passed legislation that it said would assist with revitalization.
Statistics Canada said the main Indigenous languages spoken at home are Cree and Inuktitut.
Like in other census years, it said more people report being able to speak an Indigenous language than those who report having one as a mother tongue, which suggests people are learning Indigenous languages.
Lori Idlout, the federal member of Parliament for Nunavut and NDP representative, said after constituents raise issues around housing, elder care and mental health, language is next on their list.
“Everyone is very much aware that we’re losing our language very quickly,” she said of Inuktitut in a recent interview.
Kevin Lewis, a Cree teacher in Saskatchewan, said the demand for fluent speakers is growing.
And it’s not just to meet demands in the classroom. Lewis said he’s also been approached about finding operators for 911 emergency services.
“There’s lots of opportunities that are out there now that have opened up that haven’t been there,” Lewis, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan from Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation, said in an interview this week.
“It’s enormous.”
Statistics Canada reported that between 2016 and 2021, the number of Generation Alpha members – children aged eight or younger – who can speak an Indigenous language grew from 11,715 to 28,755.
Lewis said when it comes to Cree, he sees two demographics interested in learning the language. One is residential school survivors, who are giving opportunities to their children and grandchildren to learn a language they were denied the ability to speak.
The other, he said, are survivors of the Sixties Scoop who as children were removed from their home communities by social workers and are now trying to find their roots.
Lewis said language revitalization is underway and credits social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube for giving young people the chance to practise Cree, exposing a greater audience to the language.
“Those orange shirts are very bright,” said Lewis, referring to the colour people have come to wear to honour residential school survivors on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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