Press Release September 15, 2008
Fostering the Mohawk Language through Partnership

A unique partnership between Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawenna, First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) and Trent University is playing a key role in the preservation of the Mohawk language.

According to language studies, Mohawk language is destined to become extinct over the next several years unless drastic measures are taken to counteract the decline in the number of speakers.

The Shatiwennakara:tats Diploma Program is a unique post-secondary program geared towards the revitalization of the Mohawk language in the community of Tyendinaga. The program is a partnership between Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawenna, a community organization committed to language and culture revitalization; FNTI, an Aboriginal post-secondary institution, and Trent University, who grants the diplomas.

This language program model is considered so unique that the organization has been invited to present at the World Indigenous People’s Conference on Education in Melbourne, Australia in December 2008.

This month, 18 adult students began classes in Shatiwennakara:tats. These students will attend class every day for the next two years to learn to speak Kanyen’keha (Mohawk language) while earning eight post-secondary credits towards a Diploma in Mohawk Language. These credits are also transferable to a degree program at Trent should the students wish to continue on with their post-secondary education. Most students do carry on with their education, with aspirations of becoming future teachers of the language.

The partnership with Trent University began in September 2006 with the first intake. Eleven (11) adults graduated with a diploma from this intake in April 2008.