Hailzaqvla Language Revitalization: Rising Higher and Higher

Heiltsuk (Haíɫzaqv) is the largest First Nation community in the Great Bear Rainforest, on the Pacific coast of British Columbia. They are located in Wáglísla, also known as Bella Bella, British Columbia, and their traditional territory encompasses 35,553 square kilometers.

Haíɫzaqv means to act and speak correctly as a human being.

The language revitalization program’s mission is to restore the natural transmission of the Haíɫzaqvḷa language by increasing speaking, understanding, reading and writing as well as support a high level of community engagement in the revitalization process. They aim to follow a holistic language model that meets the needs of all learners, grounded in Haíɫzaqv values, culture, and worldview.

The Heiltsuk Language Revitalization program includes several projects:

• Haíɫzaqvḷa adult immersion, a two-year program consisting of 19 courses in partnership with Simon Fraser University. First-year graduates receive a First Nation’s Language certificate, and second-year graduates receive a First Nation’s Language Diploma.
• Strong Heiltsuk Youth, a mentorship summer program involving Haíɫzaqv youth aged 13 to 15, and local expertise, cultural leaders, and local historians to foster ancestorial wisdom, knowledge, and history as they transition into adulthood.
• Heiltsuk Language Nest, a language immersion program for children aged 1 to 4 years.

Haíɫzaqvḷa Nest participants (Photo credit: Emily MacMillian)

The Donner Canadian Foundation funded Heiltsuk’s adult language immersion pilot program and has granted a total of $330,000 to their language program since 2018.

The project has contributed to the development and creation of many tools for Heiltsuk language revitalization, including children’s books, video and audio resources, an online dictionary, and the First Voices app, an online platform for Indigenous communities to share and promote their language, oral culture, and histories.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Language Building. (Photo credit: Emily MacMillian)

In October 2024, Donner Canadian Foundation Governor Marie Delorme attended the opening ceremony for the Nation’s new Language and Culture Centre, which will house the Language Nest project and operate as a learning space for adults to improve their language skills. It includes a recording studio for elders to record their stories and share cultural learning, an archive room to conserve those records for future generations, and a kitchen for the community to share and prepare food and medicine. The new centre will be a key space ensuring that the future of Haíɫzaqvḷa language revitalization will only rise higher and higher.