From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Aboriginals: Wakashans/Alan Mcmillan
Traditionally, native children learned by watching and imitating their older relatives. Boys accompanied their fathers or uncles on fishing and hunting expeditions, while girls helped in household activities. Grandparents provided important counsel, instructing children on their family history and appropriate behaviour.
Since confederation, native education has been the responsibility of the federal government. Residential schools and on-reserve day schools were established to meet this responsibility. The residential schools, in communities such as Alert Bay and Port Alberni, housed children from more isolated locations. Removing children from their families interfered with traditional teaching and led to a loss of language and culture. This was exacerbated by a curriculum that stressed Euro-Canadian perspectives. Despite a legacy of social problems and educational failure, such schools operated among the Wakashans until the early 1970s.
Today, Wakashan children attend provincial schools, located off-reserve. In urban areas with substantial native populations, such as Port Alberni, some schools have instituted native language and culture programs. A few Wakashan communities, such as Alert Bay, have on-reserve band-run schools to provide education geared to the needs of their children; language and culture programs form an integral part of the curriculum at such schools. Levels of educational attainment have increased markedly in recent years. Substantial numbers of Wakashan students now attend colleges and universities, with many entering professions such as teaching and law.
The Wakashans, like other Canadian aboriginal cultures, lacked a written language. Instead, great emphasis was placed on oral traditions. Ceremonial oratory was greatly prized, and many chiefs had speakers to recount the history and inherited rights of their family at public gatherings.
Wakashan languages suffered great decline through their suppression in residential schools and elsewhere. Today, English is the dominant language in native communities. Many elders, however, retain their traditional speech; the 1991 census indicates that about 4,000 people can carry on a conversation in a Wakashan language. Of these, Nuu-chah-nulth has the largest number of speakers.
Determined efforts are being made to reverse the loss of Wakashan languages through school programs; phonetic scripts have been developed so that such languages can be written down and taught. Language and culture programs, however, serve mainly to enhance native identity rather than to restore native languages to their former dominance.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council publishes a newspaper, Ha-Shilth-Sa, which serves to keep its members aware of political and social developments. Except for a few words, this paper is written in English. The Nuu-chah-nulth and the Kwakwaka’wakw of Alert Bay have produced films to be used in educational programs and to communicate their history and culture to a wider audience.
