New Mi’kmaq language course available at the Mount

The Mount is pleased to share that, starting this fall, students can take a new course on campus introducing them to the Mi’kmaq language. The course, titled Conversational Mi’kmaq for Non-Speakers (MIKM 2113) and offered by video conference in partnership with Cape Breton University, will teach students to understand and speak basic Mi’kmaq, with an emphasis on pronunciation and conversational skills.

Mount students taking the course will be eligible for a 0.5 unit transfer credit at the Arts 1000 level. It will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. between September and December.

The course is open to all Mount students, as well as students from other universities interested in attending via the Mount.

Patrick Small Legs-Nagge, Special Advisor to the Mount President on Aboriginal Affairs, noted “This partnership with CBU to bring the Mi’kmaq language course to the Mount demonstrates an important respect for Indigenous knowledge. With this course as just one example, the Mount has shown deep commitment to the truth and reconciliation process over the past several years. It’s an effort that includes all aspects of our organization.”

Dr. Stephanie Inglis of CBU previously noted in a fall 2017 newsletter, “Mi’kmaq is the last Eastern Algonquin language actively spoken in the world and CBU is working with all communities of Mi’kma’ki to make sure it does not disappear within the next two generations. As universities within Mi’kmaw territory, we should not be working as silos. I truly believe we should be working as teams with respect to L’nu Indigenous Knowledge; one Mi’kmaw territory served by cooperating universities.”

For more information, please contact the Department of Modern Languages at the Mount at 902-457-6547 or Juliette.Valcke@msvu.ca.

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