By learning nsyilxcən, these students learn so much more

Jasmine Peone tapes photos of a turtle, squirrel, a frog, and other local wildlife to a whiteboard.

She turns to her students, who are armed with fly swatters, and calls out the names of the animals in nsyilxcən. The youth jockey to be the first to land their swatter on the picture of the animal.

“For kids and younger students, they seem to pick it up really quickly and it’s really awesome to see,” the language and culture teacher told Kelowna10.

Peone teaches nsyilxcən, the language of the syilx Okanagan Nation, at Studio9 School of the Arts in Kelowna. When she isn’t teaching her people’s language, she works as an archeology field technician.

Studio9 recently made the decision to swap out French for nsyilxcən for elementary and middle school students.

Raised on the West Bank First Nation and attending the sənsisyustən House of Learning, Peone’s been learning her native tongue since childhood.

She said it is vital the next generation learns the language as there are only about 50 fluent speakers. The youngest of them is her 71-year-old stepfather. She hopes her pupils will become fluent in the language while the elders are still alive.

Three generations of her family attended residential schools where speaking nsyilxcən was forbidden, disrupting their understanding of their native language and so much more.

“Our language contains our worldview, our morals, our history. It’s really the essence of who we are and so without our language, we lose a lot of that,” she said. “It’s really crucial that we ensure our language carries on for future generations.”

While the kids may not be able to use the syilx language in everyday conversation, Peone said it has historical and cultural importance.

“Anyone who visited our lands traditionally would have been expected to learn nsyilxcən, at least some basics to get around,” she explained. “That hasn’t necessarily changed. We do have a lot of visitors in our territory and people who live in our lands now.”

Feeling the government is lacking in making meaningful progress on reconciliation, she applauded everyday Canadians who she feels are making efforts themselves.

“People who are taking it upon themselves to learn the truth, the history of these lands, the peoples of these lands, and all of the history since newcomers have come, those are the folks that I see that hope with,” Peone said.

“The ones that are taking upon themselves to learn those things, to engage with indigenous peoples, to learn those aspects, that’s what I see happening at Studio9.”