Saving language will save culture

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"The message is 'If we can keep our language then we can keep our culture," says al Ducharme, a Saskatchewan Metis whose Master's thesis has yielded surprising conclusions.

Believing the goals that drive education for Aboriginal people were wrong in some way, he set out to interview Native people about what those goals should be.

Ducharme found out that the preservation of First Nations languages was uppermost in the minds of his people.

"From a provincial viewpoint, one of the main goals of education is technical literacy, but I found out that to Aboriginal people it's not that im-portant."

The "preservation, continuation and empowerment of First Nations' languages" is what topped his list of seven Aboriginal goals. Cultural values (boh traditional an spiritual) was followed by: positive identity, historical and contemporary issues; academic skills, learning as a life-long and holistic process (which involves family members); and self-determination.

Ducharme distinguished himself this spring at the University of Sas-katchewan's convocation with a Master's in Education degree. He's well-suited to research education goals with his two decades in the teaching field, 13 years at the kindergarten through grade 12 level in Saskatchewan schools and more recently as instructor at the Northern Teacher Education Program. The four-year degree program prepares teachers for classrooms in the north through a Native focus, delivery and content, he says.

He interviewed Native residents from high school students to Elders of Lac La Ronge, Montreal Lake and Timer Bay in Saskatchewan and found only three out of 10 goals they chose came from provincial education aims.

He concluded a mix of goals was needed in future.

Ducharme's degree has been his ticket to an appointment as director of NORTEP this January, but he says there continues to be too few Natives who reach the Master's or Doctorate level at universities.

While universities "are softening their position with respect to Na-tives," he says Natives must show they can conquer any systemic racism that may still exist by reaching the higher levels.

"Twenty years ago I could count on one hand the number of Natives that got their Master's or Doctorate in Saskatchewan. But now there are probably about 10 people I personally know.

"It's changing but it needs to change ever more."