Indigenous Language Revitalization Program

If you’ve seen The New Yorker's article “Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die,” you may be sitting with anger, pain, or just exhaustion at dealing with yet another helping of colonial nonsense.⁠
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We reject these narratives about us and our languages. Their time is long over.⁠
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We feel a responsibility to speak back when these colonizing narratives show up, yet again, in such a prominent venue.⁠
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We rebuke The New Yorker's irresponsible decision to publish this piece.⁠

Read the full response at: https://endangeredlanguages.com/story/response-sometimes-its-ok-let-language-die

Excerpts from the response:
'The New Yorker has chosen to publish a review of How to Kill a Language, “Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die,” which shows a profound misunderstanding of language revitalization, while also perpetuating narratives designed to eradicate languages and their speakers.

As a group of Indigenous language revitalization practitioners, scholars, advocates, and allies, we are intimately familiar with these narratives about Indigenous and endangered languages. They have not changed very much in centuries.

These discourses need to shift – it is long past time. We feel a responsibility to speak back when these colonizing narratives surface yet again in such prominent venues.

Discourses and narratives – the stories we tell about things, and the ways we tell them – are not harmless or abstract. They do things, and have concrete effects.

This article stokes public sentiment against our struggle to restore our languages, and perpetuates views of Indigenous and minoritized peoples which have very real impacts on our lives.

What these discourses do, what this review does, put plainly, is reproduce the logic and discourses of colonial genocide.

This piece begins and ends with the notion that there are two kinds of language death: “natural” deaths and “murder”. This framing is nonsensical within most understandings of language held within Indigenous worldviews, as well as the academic discipline of linguistics.

To quote our colleague Dr. Maung Nyeu, an Indigenous Marma scholar from Bangladesh, “Languages do not simply die away. They are driven to extinction by identifiable forces.”

The New Yorker’s analysis of these forces is shallow at best, and deliberately misleading at worst.

The author refers to “putting languages out of their misery”. He returns to the imagery of euthanasia, painting this as a benevolent and reasonable decision, “the best way to love [dying languages]."

When, within our worldviews, our languages are inseparable from us as Peoples, the genocidal logic of this argument becomes clear: it is best for those in power to simply let us die, to put us out of our misery.

“How sad should we be when a language dies?", asks this article. From Indigenous perspectives, we know this is not the question that needs to be asked.

It is instead a question of whether you agree that a few people should get to choose who lives or dies. It is a question of whether you, or anyone, wants to accept a world where a handful of powerful men can choose to “put out of their misery” entire cultures, ways of being, human existences.

When those in power decide our languages deserve to die, what’s next for our ways of living, for the lands that sustain us, for us? And then, what’s next for all of you?'

Congratulations to all the 2026 graduates! Wishing you an amazing future!

Congratulations UVic Graduates of 2026!!! We were thrilled to celebrate some of our CILR graduates from Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation last night at the Indigenous Recognition Ceremony. Whether you were celebrating with us or at home in your community, we want to acknowledge your hard work and dedication to language revitalization. We can't wait to see what you get up to next! 🎓

So many great programs and initiatives at UVic!

National Indigenous History Month 2026 National Indigenous History Month is a time to recognize, learn about and celebrate the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations,

We are thrilled that the Micro-certificate in Indigenous Language Documentation has won Gold! This honour is thanks to all of the people on the Indigenous Advisory Committee, the amazing teaching faculty who have been part of the first two cohorts: Kyle Napier, Bridge Chase and Heather Bliss, and all the team at UVic who have supported this program. Let's celebrate!

We are at the CAUCE (Canadian Association of University Continuing Education) conference this week in Halifax! We are so grateful to CILR alumni Laura Prosper and Jasmine Ma'sl, two passionate Mi'kmaw language activists from our first online cohort, who came to present with us and share their experiences and knowledge- it was amazing and so impactful! ❤️

Amazing!!! We are so inspired by what students continue on to accomplish! Congratulations on your podcast Anishinaabemowin Word Parts- we love it! :)

Our current episode shows us how finals from different verb types are related. The final (or ending) of the verb changes what type of verb it is, which the actions are the same.

Listen to Anishinaabemowin Word Parts today on Spotify, YouTube, or on your favourite podcast player.

A wonderful person who has touched so many hearts. LEXIXELEK, Dr. Baptiste Harry “Skip” Dick of the Songhees Nation will be greatly missed.

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the passing of LEXIXELEK, Dr. Baptiste Harry “Skip” Dick of the Songhees Nation—a beloved and deeply respected Elder whose presence has been woven into the fabric of the University of Victoria for decades.

Dr. Skip was more than a respected Elder, he was a guiding light, a teacher, a Knowledge Keeper and an advocate for Indigenous education, culture and community. His life’s work has left an everlasting mark on this university, Camosun College, the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and across communities throughout these territories and beyond.

➡️ Join us in honouring his life and legacy. Read more: https://ow.ly/I7CP50YInqO

UVic Office of Indigenous Academic & Community Engagement

UPDATE: We are pausing applications for now so that we can process the ones we have received so far and determine if we have any spaces left. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to be added to our waitlist. Thanks!🌞

Apply today to join a cohort of passionate language advocates from across the country! Note: Class times are in Pacific time- please convert to your time zone if you live outside of BC
Program applications are accepted through our website (link in the comments).