It's set to be a proud day for the Seabird Island (Sq'éwqel) First Nation.
Come June 11, eight students from Seabird Island will graduate from The University of the Fraser Valley's (UFV) Upriver Halq'emeylem Intermediate Proficiency Certificate program – the first of its kind in the country. Seabird Island Halq'emeylem instructor said the local students are frontline workers and community members who participated in the program to better integrate the language into their respective workplaces.
The graduates are Peter Joe-Moreno, Emerald John, Guyweeyo Mason, Zackery McNeil-Bobb, Jenny-Lee Peters, Serena Peters-Stockton, Marrissa Upshaw and Hayley Walker.
Walker – an elders mobility program coordinator and commissioner for oaths for Seabird Island – said she was excited to take the course as soon as it was offered. She learned some of the language throughout elementary and secondary school.
"The Halq'emeylem class is more than just our language; it's our culture," she said. "I have dreamed about the ability to use Halq'emeylem words in our everyday life since I was little. To be able to take the language home and even learning from my children is so moving. Definitely a challenging language to learn!"
The Upriver Halq'emeylem Intermediate Proficiency Certificate is obtained through an intensive two-year program with start dates in September and January at the Chilliwack UFV campus (45190 Caen Ave.) Karla Kay (Kweláxtelot) was the program's instructor.
Halq'emeylem is the traditional language of the Sto:lo people and can frequently be heard and read in ceremony, signage and elsewhere in First Nations across Agassiz-Harrison and beyond. It is closely related to Downriver Halkomelem and Island Halkomelem and is spoken throughout the central and upper Fraser Valley.
Halq'emeylem is considered an endangered language, but conservation efforts to keep the language alive have been underway since at least the 1970s, and speakers today continue to work hard to keep Halq'emeylem going as an essential part of not only education in youth but as a core part of their culture and tradition since time immemorial.
According to UFV, a two-year intermediate proficiency associate certificate will count toward UFV Halq'emeylem courses and are also a requirement for higher education efforts such as a Sto:lo studies certificate, Aboriginal culture and language support diploma and a bachelor of arts with a major or minor in Indigenous studies. Career prospects with this certificate could include working as a language specialist in a school system, elevated careers with Indigenous organizations and working at research centres and heritage sites.
The convocation ceremony is set for June 11 at 33844 King Rd. in Abbotsford beginning at 9:30 a.m.
