2,081,768 views | Lindsay Morcom • TEDxQueensU
A history of Indigenous languages -- and how to revitalize them
Indigenous languages across North America are under threat of extinction due to the colonial legacy of cultural erasure, says linguist Lindsay Morcom. Highlighting grassroots strategies developed by the Anishinaabe people of Canada to revive their language and community, Morcom makes a passionate case for enacting policies that could protect Indigenous heritage for generations to come.
This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxQueensU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Read more about TEDx.Indigenous languages across North America are under threat of extinction due to the colonial legacy of cultural erasure, says linguist Lindsay Morcom. Highlighting grassroots strategies developed by the Anishinaabe people of Canada to revive their language and community, Morcom makes a passionate case for enacting policies that could protect Indigenous heritage for generations to come.
This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxQueensU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Read more about TEDx.About the speaker
Lindsay Morcom researches education, Aboriginal languages, language revitalization and linguistics.
Morcom, L. A. (2017). Indigenous holistic education in philosophy and practice, with wampum as a case study. Foro de Educación, 15(23), 121-138. | Article
Indigenous holistic education in philosophy and practice
This article looks to Anishinaabe philosophy to examine the concept of holistic knowledge, and describes how educators can bring holistic ways of knowing, understanding, doing, and honoring into their classrooms on a practical level.
Morcom, L. A. (2017). Self-esteem and cultural identity in Aboriginal language immersion kindergarteners. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 16(6), 365-380. | Article
Self-esteem and cultural identity in Aboriginal language immersion kindergarteners
Here we see that immersion has a positive impact on young children’s self-esteem.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
Morcom, L. A, and Roy, S. (2017). Is early immersion effective for Aboriginal language acquisition? A case study from an Anishinaabemowin kindergarten. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. | Article
Is early immersion effective for Aboriginal language acquisition?
Here we describe how kindergartners who arrive at school with little to no knowledge of Anishinaabemowin gain moderate fluency by the end of their second year.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
Morcom, L. A. and Roy, S. (2017). Learning through language: Academic success in an Aboriginal language immersion kindergarten. Journal of American Indian Education, 56(2), 57-80. | Article
Academic success in an Aboriginal language immersion kindergarten
Here we discuss the common concern that immersion learning will have a negative impact on children’s English language and academic development, and demonstrate that while there may be a slight delay as children get used to learning in their second language, immersion allows them to catch up and develop on par with English-medium peers, while developing fluency in their second language.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
This article is a part of an extremely important study, which demonstrates that language immersion is a useful tool for language revitalization, and also has positive effects for children’s academic and social development.
Morcom, L.A. (2017). Balancing the spirit in Aboriginal Catholic education in Ontario. University of Toronto Press. In R. Bruno-Jofré & J. Igelmo (Eds.), Education in the Wake of Vatican II (pp. 259-279). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. | Book
Balancing the spirit in Aboriginal Catholic education in Ontario
In this book chapter, I examine how Indigenous education experts in Catholic schools can work to incorporate Indigenous culture and spirituality into a Catholic learning environment. This presents challenges, including difficult encounters with the Catholic Church’s involvement with residential schools, as well as opportunities to bring Indigeneity into an education environment where spirituality is already present.
Morcom, L.A., Davis, J., & Freeman, K. (2017). Rising like the thunderbird: The reclamation of Indigenous teacher education. In T. Christou (Ed.), Canadian Teacher Education: A Curriculum History (pp. 23-40). New York: Routledge. | Book
The reclamation of Indigenous teacher education
In this book chapter, we explore the history of Indigenous education in Canada, from pre-contact formal and informal education, through the colonial period and the residential school era, to the modern day where Indigenous communities are taking control of the education of their children. We look particularly at the role of policy and the role of teacher education programs in the development of Indigenous education, and discuss the role of teacher education for Indigenous self-determination moving forward.
Morcom, L. A., and Freeman, K. (2018). Niinwi-Kiinwa-Kiinwi: Building non-Indigenous allies in education. Canadian Journal of Education, 41(3), 584-609. | Article
Building non-Indigenous allies in education
In this article, Morcom and colleague Kate Freeman explore how Anishinaabe teachings, as expressed through the Anishinaabemowin language, guide their work in developing new teachers to teach for and about Indigenous people. The focus is particularly on how non-Indigenous teachers can work to be allies to Indigenous people and teach for reconciliation.
Hare, J., Davis, L., Morcom, L.A., Hiller, C., and Taylor, L. (Eds). (2018). Canadian Journal of Native Education: Special Issue on Indigenization, Decolonization and Reconciliation: Critical Considerations and Cross-Disciplinary Approaches. | Article
Decolonization and Reconciliation: Critical Considerations and Cross-Disciplinary Approaches
In this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Native Education, authors from multiple disciplines explore what post-secondary teachers can do to teach for reconciliation in their classrooms, what benefits they see when they do, and what challenges they encounter along the way.
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