Indigenous universities and language reclamation: Lessons in balancing Linguistics, L2 teaching, and language frameworks from Blue Quills University

Abstract

This article describes Dene and Cree language programs at University nuhelot'įne thaiyots'į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills, a First Nations-owned university in Canada created in a former residential school building in the decades following a 1969 sit-in by concerned parents. The history of UnBQ and its role in language and cultural revitalization are situated in the context of the North American tribal college and university movement, as is the author's integration of the challenge by Leonard (2017, 2018) to explore Indigenous frameworks for language in his teaching of introductory linguistics. Follow-up interviews with students, a department head and the UnBQ president include their ideas for a possible Cree-based framework for linguistic analy-sis. Translation and co-creation of linguistic terminology into Plains Cree and Denesųłiné support language use in the classroom and students' understanding. Practi-cal challenges facing UnBQ are discussed.