The Okanagan Heritage Museum is hosting an event for awareness of an endangered Indigenous language.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 21, the museum will host the Syilx Language House to educate people about Nsyilxcən (the Okanagan language).
The event will also feature a fundraiser with donated homemade bannock to be sold at the museum with all proceeds going to support the Syilx Language House.
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The Syilx Language House was established to create a new generation of fluent speakers and to preserve the language and stories of the Syilx Nation, which stretches across the Interior Plateau from Revelstoke to northern Washington.
“Language connects people to their land, their culture, their family and their ancestors. Nsyilxcən is critically endangered, with fewer than 50 fluent Elders. Think of all that is lost when a language dies,” said Jen Garner, education and programming co-ordinator with Kelowna Museums.
“The Syilx Language House is a grassroots organization that is committed to creating fluent Nsyilxcən speakers. We are honoured to fundraise on National Indigenous Peoples Day and highlight this amazing language program.”
For more information about the event, go to kelownamuseums.ca or thelanguagehouse.ca.
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