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Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices

The travelling exhibition runs from September 17 to November 20, 2021 at the Kitimat Museum & Archives.

Indigenous languages featured at the Kitimat Museum & Archives

Kitimat and Terrace—How many of us in BC can say “hello” in the language of the people on whose traditional territory we live, work and play?

You might find yourself expanding your vocabulary—and appreciation for the state of Indigenous languages spoken in BC—after visiting Kitimat Museum & Archives to view ‘Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in BC travelling exhibition.

Learn what First Nations communities throughout the province are doing to help 34 different languages survive and flourish, in Our Living Languages, a beautifully designed exhibition from the Royal BC Museum and First Peoples’ Cultural Council that celebrates the resilience and diversity of Indigenous languages in the face of change.

To complement the travelling exhibition and speak to the local language component, the Museum will have an exhibition panel describing the efforts by Haisla to preserve Haislakala and Henaksialakala. It is the goal of the Museum to recognize the importance of language revitalization within the Haisla community to preserve the language heritage.

Languages, especially the languages we grow up with, are powerful and potent markers of identity and culture. BC, one of the planet’s most linguistically diverse regions, is known as a linguistic “hotspot” because of the diversity and vitality of the First Nations languages in BC.

Our Living Languages provides visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the history of disrupted languages in BC, the complexity of these languages, and the people–and entire communities–that are working tirelessly to document and revitalize them.

The original exhibition of the same name was developed in partnership with the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and is a permanent fixture on the 3rd floor of the Royal BC Museum, in Victoria.

The travelling exhibition runs from September 17 to November 20 at the Kitimat Museum & Archives.

 

Kitimat Museum & Archives Media contact:

Angela Eastman, Collections & Programming
(250) 632-8950
aeastman@kitimatmuseum.ca

 

About the Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum explores the province’s human history and natural history, advances new knowledge and understanding of BC, and provides a dynamic forum for discussion and a place for reflection. The museum and archives celebrate culture and history, telling the stories of BC in ways that enlighten, stimulate and inspire. Located in Victoria on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations), we are a hub of community connections in BC–onsite, offsite and online–taking pride in our collective histories.

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Media contact:

Royal BC Museum Media Inquiries
250-387-5051
news@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca
@RoyalBCMuseum  royalbcmuseum RoyalBCMuseum

Kitimat Museum & Archives

The Kitimat Museum & Archives opened in October 1969 and has served Kitimat citizens for the past fifty years as the place for community and natural history, and an exhibition centre for visual arts.

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