(Ottawa, ON) – November 23, 2022 –The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is pleased to announce the release of episode 9 with Dr. Tricia Logan. Tricia is an adult learner of the Michif language. Tricia is a Métis scholar and currently the head of Research and Engagement at the University of British Columbia’s Residential School History & Dialogue Centre in Vancouver.

Tricia shares her experience learning Michif through the Master-Apprentice Language Revitalization Program. At the time, she travelled to Camperville, Manitoba to immerse herself in the Michif language. Through this method, Tricia spent her time with Michif Elders Rita Flamand and Grace Zoldy. As she notes, this option is an ideal way to learn the language, though it is not always available or accessible because of the barriers of time, money, and work obligations of daily life. A mixture of both context and content, Tricia describes the true rarity and specialness of the experience which included language transmission through various tasks such as gardening, through story-telling, learning songs, and hearing prayers. She talks about how she has maintained the language since her time in Camperville and how the pandemic helped facilitate a community of speakers. Of what she has learned to keep in mind when absorbing the Michif language, Tricia shares: “Part of it is learning to listen to Elders, learning to listen to your teachers, learning to listen to language speakers, in not only the language they’re transmitting but how they’re transmitting the language and honouring that.”

Voices from the Land is an Indigenous Languages Revitalization Project funded by Canadian Heritage. Over the course of the winter months of 2022, host Gordon Spence spoke with Indigenous language teachers, adult learners and parents and caretakers of children learning their Indigenous language. From Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe); to Nehiyaw (Cree); the Michif language; Kanien’kéha (Mohawk); Onʌyoteˀa·ká (Oneida); and Dȁn k’e (Southern Tutchone), language learners, teachers and parents across Turtle Island share their insights and experiences. The goal of these 21 interviews was to gain a sense of the barriers and successes to learning one’s own language. We invite you to hear their voices and learn from their truth, as the languages have taught them so much and they want to share.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 22 years. LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and impacts on 7 generations of Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) children, their families and communities from attending Residential and Day Schools and the subsequent Sixties Scoop. By fostering empathy and understanding, LHF encourages people to address discrimination and injustice and contributes to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF has more than 25 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history that are free to borrow and is working on making exhibitions available online. LHF also has curricula for K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops and Training, and Podcasts all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, etc. in order to offer solutions on how to be an ally. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism against Indigenous Peoples.