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Silent Speakers: Reclaiming Anishinaabemowin

“Silent Speakers” are individuals whose first spoken language was Anishinaabemowin (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), but, for a variety of reasons, their relationship with the language was interrupted.  This pilot program is designed to support them in reclaiming and rebuilding their relationship with Anishinaabemowin and their identities as first speakers.

Inspired by successful models from the Sami people and First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) in BC, this program is the first of its kind in Manitoba. It focuses on healing, reconnection, identity, and empowerment from an Anishinaabe perspective.

Program Overview

This intensive program supports participants in rebuilding their relationship with Anishinaabemowin. It includes:

  • Art therapy and group counseling sessions to process personal language loss
  • Group discussions on colonization's targeting of Indigenous languages, identity, language bullies, and language trauma
  • Language reclamation and sharing in a supportive, non-judgmental space

Participants explore both the challenges and the deep beauty of Anishinaabemowin, and the worldview it carries.

Who is a Silent Speaker?

Silent Speakers may:

  • Understand the language but no longer speak it
  • Have attended Residential or Day Schools
  • Have experienced trauma that disrupted their language use
  • Have moved away from their community or no longer have anyone to speak with

Many no longer see themselves as speakers due to loss of fluency, comparing themselves to previous generations of speakers. But they are first speakers—and they still carry the Anishinaabe worldview and deep cultural knowledge that comes with it.

Why Silent Speakers Matter

Silent Speakers are vital to language revitalization:

  • They are closest to oral fluency and can reclaim Anishinaabemowin with the right support
  • They hold a first speaker’s perspective, having grown up seeing the world through the language—a valuable gift that second-language learners are missing
  • They understand both the learner’s journey and the worldview that is embedded in every first speaker of Anishinaabemowin

For too long, this group has been overlooked in language programming. Our work seeks to change that—recognizing Silent Speakers not as lost speakers, but as key leaders in Anishinaabemowin language reclamation.

This program is made possible with funding from the Government of Canada.