(Ottawa, ON) – November 30, 2022 –  The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is pleased to announce the release of episode 10 with Angel McNaughton. Angel is of the Six Nations Grand River Territory and is a proud mother of five children who have participated in the local immersion program at school. The Six Nations Confederacy houses 6 distinct languages which are: Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora. In her children’s school, the Mohawk and Cayuga languages are predominantly taught. In this episode, Angel shares about the dreams she has for her children learning their Indigenous language, among which is their opportunity to learn in an environment where they are supported and encouraged.

Angel identifies the benefits of language learning for her children, including the value system and respect that comes with the language. Angel shares her experience with the Mohawk and Cayuga languages and how her grandparents were fluent speakers, but that the language transmission was largely lost with her parents’ generation due to the Residential School System. Their community is now on the path to trying to bring their languages back.  In terms of supporting her children’s Indigenous language learning in a world where English is so easily accessible, Angel says: “I just always found to encourage the language learning and not so much the English, because the English will come.” With the online classes brought on by the pandemic, Angel says it was an opportunity to bring more of the language into her home, and an opportunity for her to practice and learn with her children as well. Gordon and Angel discuss the connection of language to culture and the importance of revitalizing language, so that the culture can be more deeply felt and known.

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.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 22 years. The 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 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.