Language and cultural authority
The Nation runs its own language department, its own immersion school, its own archive and its own historic preservation office. This page is about the work of holding a language and a record, set out as government function, because that is what it is.
The line above this heading is left empty on purpose
Every heading on this site reserves a line above it, at the same size and weight as the English, where the Nation's own word belongs. On this demonstration those lines render nothing at all.
Wiyaka Studios does not invent Indigenous words and does not run English through a translator. A language belongs to its speakers, and a demonstration site for a Nation that does not exist has no speakers to ask. The space is built, measured and reserved. A real Nation fills it.
Teaching
8 classes and programs run this term, from a language nest for infants to a paid year long apprenticeship pairing an apprentice with a first language speaker.
Council policy adopted in 2024 makes one hour a week of language study part of the paid working week for every employee of the Nation. That policy is why the staff hour is held at midday in Council chambers, which is the largest room in the building.
- Beginning adult language, autumn term Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Beginning. Register in 16 days
- Continuing adult language, autumn term Tuesday, 7:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.. Continuing. Register in 16 days
- Reading and writing workshop Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. Continuing. Register in 20 days
- Advanced conversation circle Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Advanced. Register in 18 days
- Family language evening Second Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.. Family. Register in 23 days
Holding the record
The Tribal Archive holds the Nation's recordings, photographs and papers. Four hundred and twelve reels of audio and two hundred and sixty cassettes were digitised this summer.
None of it has been published. Digitising a recording and publishing a recording are two different decisions, and the second one belongs to Council and to the families, under an access policy that sorts material into open to citizens, open to family, and closed.
Exercising the authority
The Tribal Historic Preservation Office reviews every federal undertaking that could affect the Nation's cultural resources, and the Repatriation Office brings ancestors and belongings home.
2 consultations are open for comment now. The Nation publishes them because a citizen has a right to know what is being decided about their homeland while it is still being decided.
The Historic Preservation Office and repatriation or the consultation record
The departments that do this work
- Tribal Historic Preservation Office Exercises the Nation's authority over cultural resources, and reviews every project that could affect them. 555-0123
- Immersion School and Language Nest Runs the Nation's immersion classroom for children from age two through grade six, and the language nest for infants and toddlers. 555-0121
- Language Department Teaches, records and certifies the Nation's language, and sets the policy for how it is used and shared. 555-0120
- Tribal Archive Holds the Nation's records, recordings, photographs and collections, and decides who may see what under a policy the Council sets. 555-0122
- Repatriation Office Brings the Nation's ancestors and belongings home, and supports families through the process. 555-0124