(POSTPONED) Drs Chief Ron & Marianne Ignace

Please note that the event Indigenous Speaker Series Event – Secwepemc People, Land, and Laws originally scheduled to take place on January 31, 2019, 5:00-7:00 PM, has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Today, Dr. Ron Ignace was called to the United Nations in New York to witness its work on the Indigenous Languages legislation that will recognize all Indigenous languages in Canada. The Indigenous Languages legislation will be introduced in Canada’s parliament on Monday and he will be there to witness its introduction. When passed, this legislation means that 65 Indigenous languages in Canada will be enshrined in section 35.1 of the Canadian Constitution. What this means is the Indigenous peoples will have appropriate, sufficient and dependable language resources versus making each Indigenous language group compete for smaller Indigenous language resources.

For the Secwepemc nation, passage of this legislation will mean that they will be able to make Secwepemctsin one of Canada’s official languages in this territory. It is the culmination of decades of language legislation work that Dr. Ignace and many others have led for many years, locally, nationally and internationally.

Drs Ron and Marianne Ignace’s Inaugural Indigenous Speaker presentation will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Kukstemc, thank you, for your patience and understanding.

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