News and Events
INLP Graduates cross the stage at Convocation Ceremony F: View the Video
June 12, 2025. PhD graduates included and , as well as honorary degree recipient and esteemed Elder, Dr. Iy谩l' (Vanessa) Campbell. MA graduates included Victoria Fraser, Tammy Jack, Lisa Orton, Tracy Thomas, and Kaiya Williams. Other credentials awarded (view video via link below for details) included the Certificate in Indigenous Language Proficiency, the Diploma in Indigenous Language Proficiency, the Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Arts and Social Sciences, and the Bachelor of Arts: Minor in Indigenous Language and Extended Minor in Linguistics.
INLP graduate Kaitlyn Cunningham awarded the Lieutenant Governor鈥檚 Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation
June 11, 2025. Since she was five years old, Kaitlyn Cunningham has been learning h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛, one of the three dialects of the Halkomelem language. When Cunningham turned 17, she began volunteering to teach h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 to youth in the community alongside her sister Leah Meunier. A significant component of Cunningham鈥檚 language revitalization efforts is the founding of the (XWCS), founded in 2022. In recognition of her lifelong dedication to Indigenous language revitalization, Cunningham is being awarded the Lieutenant Governor鈥檚 Medal.
Watch video: Hul'q'umi'num' Numeracy, Immersion Style | Created by the Hul'q'umi'num' Language and Culture Society
May 29, 2025. The Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� dialect is spoken by the Snaw-naw-as, Snuneymuxw, Stz鈥檜minus, Penelakut, Halalt, Quw鈥檜tsun鈥�, and Malahat people and their relatives living among the neighbouring Coast Salish peoples. In this video, mathematics is used as a way to help teach students Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� language and culture via immersion.
Colloquium by Lauren Schneider | Corpus-informed syntax: Exploring Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� serial verb constructions
May 13, 2025. Lauren Schneider is a Visiting Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the NAMA Program at . She recently completed her PhD at SFU Linguistics. Schneider鈥檚 focus of research includes working with the Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� people on description, analysis, and reclamation of their language. Schneider is also currently learning more about the morphosyntax of a broader range of North American Indigenous languages. She recently presented at the Workshop on American Indigenous Languages (WAIL).
Colloquium by Ted Kye: Shedding new light on denasalization in Lushootseed
May 6, 2025. Ted Kye currently works at the , University of Washington, Seattle. His areas of research include phonetics, speech production, corpus linguistics, and phonetics of underdocumented languages. Learn .
Dear Canadians: A Call for Justice for MMIWG2S+
May 5, 2025. "Red Dress Day is a call to end gendered and racialized violence against Indigenous people in what is now Canada. A call to create a new reality and new narrative, where we understand it is up to each of us to be part of a solution for the MMIWG2S+ crisis." INLP Instructor Jask瘫waan Bedard provides an inspiring message about the significance of Red Dress Day. "We can create a new narrative where every person is valued and safe."
Colloquium by Colin Brown: Clause typing and clitic linearization in Gitksan
May 1, 2025. Colin Brown is an SSHRC Postdoctoral Scholar at who received a PhD from the Department of Linguistics at . The empirical basis of Brown's research comes from novel fieldwork on understudied languages, primarily Sm'algyax and Gitksan (Tsimshianic, Canada/USA) and more recently, Mam (Mayan, Guatemala/Mexico). His research focus includes the morphosyntax of A'-movement, the semantics of non-canonical questions, and the linearization of sentential clitics.
INLP Instructor Jask瘫waan Bedard successfully defends her PhD thesis
April 4, 2025. A huge congratulations to Jask瘫waan Bedard! On April 3rd at 12:30pm, Bedard defended her thesis titled X瘫aad K铆hlga Tl'a G煤usuugiigangsaang: A Haida Research Framework for Learning X瘫aad Ki虂l. [Note: Dr. Bedard graduated at Ceremony F on June 12th, 2025. Her rank is now Assistant Professor.]
SFU to confer honorary degree on Elder Iy谩l' Campbell
March 13, 2025. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Elder Iy谩l' (Vanessa) Campbell on Thursday, June 12th during the 9:45am Convocation ceremony. About Elder Iy谩l' Campbell: Skwxw煤7mesh sn铆chim, the language of the Squamish people, has been the life鈥檚 work of educator and Elder Iy谩l' Campbell for more than 50 years. In 2018, she began teaching for the newly created Diploma in Indigenous Languages - Skwxw煤7mesh sn铆chim. INLP extends our deepest congratulations to Elder Iy谩l' Campbell!
CBC News features INLP graduates in report on Squamish Language Nest
February 10, 2025. INLP graduates are featured in a video interview with Lisa Christiansen, who visited (the Squamish Language Nest), where families are taking part in immersive language lessons and celebrating Squamish culture.
.
Tania Willard, INLP Shadbolt Fellow, to present on Jan 30
January 7, 2025. The FASS event, titled Speaking: Before, During, and After Colonialism, is an evening of conversation with the four Shadbolt Fellows, followed by a Q&A session and a catered reception. The Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship in the Humanities program increases the visibility of the contributions and critical power of the humanities and arts to the university community. It also engages the wider community through publicly involved scholarship and creativity.
Report: Indigenous Language Revitalization Symposium
December 6, 2024. Indigenous partner community members, SFU faculty members and administrators, and others from the SFU community gathered for the Indigenous Language Revitalization Symposium. Community participants included representatives from around a dozen communities from both BC and the Yukon. Funding for the Indigenous Language Revitalization Symposium was received from SFU's Aboriginal Strategic Initiative and the McConnell Foundation through the BC Collaborative for Social Infrastructure.
Sharing Successes and Exploring Next Steps: Indigenous Language Revitalization Symposium Highlights
November 26, 2024. Members from several Indigenous partner communities and the SFU community gathered to participate in the Indigenous Language Revitalization Symposium. The two-day symposium, generously funded by the SFU Aboriginal Strategic Initiative Fund and the McConnell Foundation, was a collaboration among the Office of the Dean in SFU鈥檚 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), the SFU Indigenous Languages Program, and INLP鈥檚 partner First Nations communities.
New faculty member Jas岣祑aan Bedard honoured at Old Masset in Haida Gwaii
November 07, 2024. A dinner event was held in honour of Jas岣祑aan Bedard becoming an INLP faculty member. FASS Dean Laurel Weldon and Chair of Linguistics Panos Pappas travelled to Masset for the event and to strengthen ties with the Indigenous communities of Haida Gwaii. Several local dignitaries, including Chiefs and Elders, attended the event to acknowledge Bedard for her hard work on language revitalization.
Indigenous language professionals explore strengths-based language proficiency assessment
September 24, 2024. INLP and SFU鈥檚 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) invited the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to Burnaby campus to lead an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Assessment workshop.
Introducing our new Shadbolt Fellow: Tania Willard
August 28, 2024. We are hosting Tania Willard, MFA, an Indigenous artist, curator, and professor, as a Shadbolt Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year. Through collaborative projects such as the BUSH Gallery and support of language revitalization in Secw茅pemc communities, Tania activates connection to land, culture, and family, centering art as an Indigenous resurgent act.
INLP MA students and Graduate Chair present at IASCL 2024
July 20, 2024. INLL MA students Martina Joe and Randeana Peter鈥� 鈥媝resented their research findings in Prague 鈥媎uring the XVIth International Congress for the Study of Child Language鈥�.
Jaskwaan Bedard: In her own words
July 15, 2024. Announcing our newest member of faculty in the Indigenous Languages Program (INLP), Jask瘫waan Bedard.
Dr. Marianne Ignace: Interview with Fairchild Television
July 2, 2024. Dr. Ignace spoke with Cantonese language broadcaster Fairchild TV about our Indigenous language revitalization efforts and the importance of reaching a "critical mass of adult speakers".
Benjamin Chung: Grad Student Profile
June 11, 2024. "I am grateful to have received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's (SSHRC CGS-M) and departmental Graduate Fellowships to support my research and time at SFU."
H蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 performance of "Princess Tsawassa: A journey of discovery"
May 31, 2024. Students from our INLG 335 class brought to life a Tsawwassen origin story performed entirely in h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 for an audience of eighty attendees, hosted by the Tsawwassen First Nation.
Dr. Heather Bliss and PhD student Lauren Schneider present at WAIL
May 07, 2024. As part of a session titled 鈥淐ommunity approaches to Revitalization,鈥� Dr. Heather Bliss delivered a research talk titled Weaving our knowledge together to create a Blackfoot learning hub, centred on Blackfoot language revitalization efforts.
Dr. Donna Gerdts and Dr. Marianne Ignace receive an award for Excellence in Leadership
March 25, 2024. Both Dr. Ignace and Dr. Gerdts are winners in the Excellence in Leadership category, of the 2022 Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Awards for Excellence in Graduate Studies.
Halat Kaiya Williams, Indigenous Languages graduate student, is interviewed by North Shore News
March 09, 2024. Halat speaks with North Shore News regarding the Language Nest program.
SFU Excellence in Teaching Award: Dr. Marianne Ignace
March 06, 2024. Congratulations to Dr. Marianne Ignace on receiving the 2023 SFU Excellence in Teaching Award. Other accolades include the 2020 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the 2019 Governor General's Award for Innovation.
Read the full story.
K猫yish铆 Bessie Cooley, MA: Lifelong Indigenous language advocate dedicates degree to Tlingit heritage
October 04, 2023. "As 79-year-old K猫yish铆 Bessie Cooley presented her master's degree thesis project at the Yukon Native Language Centre in Whitehorse鈥攊nterweaving English and Tlingit as she spoke鈥攊t marked another milestone in what is already an extraordinarily accomplished life."
Legacy gift funds scholarship awards for Indigenous language learners
February 01, 2023. Thanks to a generous legacy gift from the , endowments have been created to permanently fund two scholarship awards benefitting Indigenous students, guaranteeing its financial support for Indigenous language learners for many years to come.
Supporting students enrolled in the Indigenous Languages Program (INLP), the Dr. Aimee August Award in Indigenous Language Proficiency and the Dr. Ruby Peter Graduate Award in Indigenous Language Proficiency were established in honour of their namesakes, who had made great strides in Indigenous language revitalization, instruction, and documentation.
New master's degree program established to support Indigenous language revitalization
September 26, 2022. This new two-year program focuses entirely on training individuals who will go on to support the reclamation, revitalization, and strengthening of their Indigenous languages.
The RSC Presents the Class of 2020
September 8, 2020. The Royal Society of Canada celebrated new Fellows in an induction ceremony today for their "outstanding scholary, scientific and artistic achievement." Seven SFU Researchers were elected into the group of 87 Fellows.
New postdoctoral fellow, Dr. James Crippen (Dz茅iwsh), aims to break down myths around Indigenous languages
June 19, 2020. Dr. James Crippen/Dz茅iwsh started a Tenure-track appointment in January 2021 at McGill University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics. He was the first postdoctoral fellow in the Indigenous Languages Program in 2020 enabled through Aboriginal Strategic Initiatives.
Elders and great-grandchildren share the legacy of learning Hul'q'umi'num'
December 16, 2019. CBC News published an article highlighting the work Elder Ruby Peter and the Hul'q'umi'num' Language and Culture Society has done to preserve the Hul'q'umi'num' language. This past spring, four generations of Elder Peter's family received university honours from SFU.