Values-based language learning
June 10, 2024
Lisa Crowshoe, an educator and Niitsi’powahsin (Blackfoot language) activist, is the second student to have completed her PhD in Indigenous Language Revitalization at UVic. Her research explores a method for Blackfoot youth to improve their well-being while learning values-based Niitsi’powahsin.
Blackfoot language at home
Lisa grew up north of Waterton Lakes National Park, in the foothills where the prairies meet the Rocky Mountains. One of the youngest of ten siblings, she grew up with many close relatives nearby. Her first language is English whereas her older siblings’ is Blackfoot. They were born into a time when Indian residential schools were just being built, and unfortunately, they attended. By the time Lisa and her younger siblings were born, people knew about the negative repercussions of being caught speaking Indigenous languages at residential schools. “I think they made a conscious decision not to speak to us in Blackfoot so we wouldn’t get into trouble.”
She points to her grandmother as a constant presence in her life and the matriarch of the family. Both Lisa’s parents and her grandfather spoke English, but her grandmother held firm to her traditional language and culture. “She never gave in to speaking English. All her grandchildren understand the Blackfoot language because she was just adamant that she was going to continue speaking it.” As a young adult, Lisa would often visit her grandmother, who would share stories. “Through her language she was a great storyteller, and she instilled a value system in us, including teaching us about our roles in the family. I carried those values into the next chapters of my life as a mother and teacher.”
Teaching pathway
Lisa’s love of reading and being around children led to her pursuing a career in teaching. For the past three decades, she’s been working hard to Indigenize the provincial K-12 curriculum by bringing the Blackfoot perspective into her classrooms. “For example, in a science class, I’ll ask students to find a story related to the topic. Why is the solar system important to us [as Blackfoot people]? Where have we learned about it? What are the related worldviews?” She says her students take the questions home to their family members. This after-school research often used the Blackfoot language, where words and phrases illuminate specific Indigenous knowledges. “Through these conversations, students deepen their connections with family members and learn important concepts through the language.”
While working as an administrator and instructor at a provincial high school in Alberta, Lisa was tasked with teaching grade 7-12 Blackfoot language classes. She brought in two elders to work with her, and together they would spend a few hours each week going over terms and building lessons. “I was seeing my students picking up the language and becoming very proud of being able to speak. That really encouraged me.” Later, when Lisa became the Superintendent of K-12 schools in the Piikani Nation, she began to look at language revitalization efforts. She and a group of colleagues began exploring opportunities to create and bring in different programming. They partnered with the University of Lethbridge to host the 2018 Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium, where one of the guest speakers was Dr. Onowa McIvor.
“I went up to [Dr. McIvor] and introduced myself. I said, “I’m one of the co-hosts of the of this event. I'd like to go into the field of indigenous language revitalization. I want to do research about it in our own nation.” Dr. McIvor responded with “I'm taking five students by special arrangement and I'm going to do a pilot project. I’ll send you the link.”
Values based language learning
In July 2019, Lisa and four other students started their PhD program. She designed her research around the premise that Niitsi’powahsin is a powerful means of connecting to Niitsitapia’pii (Blackfoot values and ways of knowing). Working with Piikani Elders and Knowledge Keepers, she prompted them to identify key Niitsitapia’pii values and create Niitsi’powahsin language lessons around each one. She created audio recordings of the Elders and Knowledge Keepers that included an introduction to the value, a values-based language lesson and a related story where the value is demonstrated. From these recordings, she created podcasts intended for Blackfoot youth to listen and learn from.
One value is awareness. A young child could say “I will be aware” or “I will be careful.” A simple phrase like this can be built upon for older children. “I will be aware of who my friends and acquaintances are,” or “I will be careful what I put in my body.” Another value is helping. Young children learn simple phrases about helping their parents at home, and older children learn longer phrases about helping their grandparents cutting wood or berry picking. The lesson here is about the reciprocal nature of helping someone and having that help come back to you. The language is practical, but the teaching is about what it means to help someone.
“That’s what we call values-based language learning. We do it for our young people because we want them to be in a good place when they're learning language. Let's give them some positive, strong language to use. I think the more you use that type of language, the more that it is reciprocal. Good things will start happening to you when you use good language.”
What's next
Indigenous Language Revitalization is gaining momentum as more people find and share ways of doing the work. Lisa says that conferences such as SILS are opportunities to witness the expansive nature of the work. Language teachers can connect with each other and establish best practices and encourage others to use the models. “I'm impressed with what UVic is doing. A lot of the work done here is because of the people including Dr. Wanosts'a7 Lorna Williams, Dr. Onowa McIvor and the late Dr. Trish Rosborough.” She says her goal now is to continue teaching the language and advocating for other universities to put similar models in place.
“I'm very appreciative of my family who have supported me. My two children and my grandchildren because they keep me grounded and my siblings who have encouraged me. I think that language is about extended family and so we can never forget that relationships are part of that stabilization. We're able to hang on to something that keeps us keeps us solid, so that we don't waver as we're doing our work.”
“Inside a teepee there are all the poles and then there's an anchor in the center that stakes the teepee down. That’s what we're trying to instill in young people – that they have a stake, and something to keep them grounded and stabilized in times of need – that's that our language and culture.”