How do you say 'leash your dog' in Mohawk? Kahnawake woman hopes signs will help save language
Callie Karihwiióstha Montour partnered with public works to put up signs in Kanien’kéha around the community
A new crop of road signs has popped up in Kahnawake, the Mohawk territory on Montreal's South Shore, advising people to keep their pets on a leash, pick up their trash and watch out for crossing turtles.
But these aren't ordinary signs — the notices are written in Kanien'kéha, the Mohawk language, and are accompanied by pictograms.
The multilingual signs are placed around the town in an effort to help residents pick up Kanien'kéha words and phrases in their everyday lives, if they haven't had the opportunity to take classes or learn it at home.
Walked by a few of the new Kanien'kéha signs on my way home from work today. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kahnawake?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kahnawake</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZFZ9Vn2FXb">pic.twitter.com/ZFZ9Vn2FXb</a>
—@KanhehsiioThe idea came from Callie Karihwiióstha Montour, who lives and works in the community and hosts a talk show on K103.7 radio.
"I've always been trying to help other people to speak because our language is in such a critical condition, this is just one of the ideas that I had," Montour said.
Montour partnered with the Kahnawake Mohawk Council and its public works department to get 20 signs manufactured and posted around town.
She even took suggestions from community members about what kinds of signs they wanted to see added.
Having gone through an adult immersion program herself, Montour hopes to see a renewed interest in people learning the language and using it more regularly.
"I would like to see Kanien'kéha come back as our first language, like it was meant to be," she said. "Right now, it's a second, a third and not even a language for many people."
The most recent census data released by Statistics Canada showed that Indigenous languages are showing a strong resurgence across the country.
"That suggests that many people, especially young people, are learning [Indigenous] languages as second languages," said the Stats Can report.
Christine Zachary-Deom, a council chief, estimates that about 10 per cent of the community speaks Kanien'kéha. Immersion programs for children help get more people speaking the language, she added.
"Let's just hope that our language is not declining, let it continue to arise," Zachary-Deom said. "I think most of the community hopes for that."
With files from Simon Nakonechny