Investigating Public School Language Initiatives in Northern Manitoba

An emergent imperative in public school priorities across Canada in recent years is that of Indigenous education. An important part of this imperative, as articulated by Indigenous peoples and educational authorities, is that of Indigenous language programming. In response, some public-school districts have explored and initiated Indigenous language programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how public-school districts have navigated and managed Indigenous language programming in northern Manitoba – one of some regions in Canada for which Indigenous language use is comparatively high. Participation was solicited from public school districts in this region that have initiated Indigenous language programming. Interviews with school administrators and educators were conducted to explore how the programs were developed, implemented and the impact they have had upon students, families, and communities. This study found that public schools in northern Manitoba have experienced some success in recent years with their respective language programming in spite of difficulties such as the availability of qualified teachers, resource procurement, and legislative limitations. Participants reported successful navigation of language-related politics, linguistic nuance related to such things as dialect use, and collaboration with their respective communities.