With approximately 90 Indigenous languages spoken today, multilingualism in what is now commonly referred to as Canada predates European invasion. Since its founding in 1867, Canada’s language-in-education policies primarily focused on establishing and negotiating the status of English and French while eradicating Indigenous languages. This page provides a brief overview of key national Indigenous language-in-education policies.
Early Policy
The British North America Act (1867) established equal status for English and French in parliament and courts and gave provinces jurisdiction over education. The Indian Act (1876) gave the federal government control over the education of Indigenous children and required them to attend residential schools. The government (and their partnerships with various churches) forced residential school students to speak English or French and punished them for speaking their Indigenous languages. For nearly 150 years, Canada used the residential school system to enforce oppressive language policy aimed at cultural genocide. When residential schools started to close, the federal government began sending Indigenous students to public schools, where compulsory language, cultural and other assimilation continued.
1960s and 1970s Activism
The 1960s and 70s saw increased activism by non-English language speakers. Prompted by French language rights activists, the federal government established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963) to assess the state of bilingualism and biculturalism. This led to the Official Languages Act (1969), which made English and French the official languages of Canada. This Act benefited French-speakers but did not address the concerns of Indigenous Peoples and immigrants who spoke other languages. The same year Canada released the White Paper (1969) which proposed to end the legal relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples. This action gave way to a large-scale movement of resistance by Indigenous Peoples, including the Red Paper (1970) response to Canada. Subsequently, the National Indian Brotherhood published the first written policy on Indigenous education, called Indian Control of Indian Education (1972). The document advocated for local control of education by Indigenous Peoples and emphasized the importance of teaching Indigenous languages.
Continued Struggle
The Constitution Act (1982) affirmed the rights of English and French speakers to receive government services and education in their language. While it recognized treaty rights, it did not recognize Indigenous language rights despite accelerated language shift toward dominant languages. The Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988) advanced Canada’s policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework through support for the preservation and enhancement of languages other than English and French. The Act did not provide funding to support Indigenous language preservation. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was established in 1991, leading to the creation of the Task Force on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures in 2003. In 2005, it published a report calling for support of Indigenous languages via government funding. The report demonstrated unprecedented support of Indigenous languages by the federal government, including the recommendation to create the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). At the same time, it also fell short by providing funding but placing limitations on its use.
Truth and Reconciliation and the Indigenous Languages Act (2019)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) called for reform of Indigenous education and the protection of Indigenous languages. Acknowledging the harm of the residential school system, Calls to Action included for the federal government to draft new legislation in partnership with Indigenous communities and to provide funding to protect Indigenous languages. A direct outcome of the TRC, the Indigenous Languages Act (2019) was enacted to “reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages in Canada“ with long-term predictable and sufficient funding to support the implementation of the Act. While the Indigenous Languages Act marks a major step forward, the federal government and provinces will need to take further action to support the restoration of intergenerational language transmission through Indigenous language immersion education.
Federal vs. Regional Policies
Understanding federal language policy toward Indigenous languages is just one piece of the complex puzzle of Indigenous language education. With the end of the residential school system, most Indigenous students were integrated into the public school system. Over time First Nations schools were developed, mainly funded federally and in some instances regulated by the Education Acts of various provinces and territories. Each section of this website provides summaries of legislation and policy concerning Indigenous language education and revitalization in each province and territory.