Not a single individual in her Katzie neighborhood, east of Vancouver, is fluent, however she’s been selecting it up since taking Hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓ lessons at her neighborhood faculty when she was a baby.
Cunningham was taught by two academics who realized from the final two remaining Hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓ audio system, and she or he is now thought-about a language keeper in her neighborhood.
So when her husband, {an electrical} engineer, requested for her assist naming his new contracting firm in Hən̓q̓əmín̓əm, she was excited by the chance to advertise her language.
However when she went on-line to register the corporate identify — ok̓ʷə́yecən, or grizzly bear — on his behalf, she found B.C.’s registry does not allow characters that aren’t a part of the Roman alphabet.
“I used to be simply type of actually shocked and a little bit harm,” stated Cunningham, who’s the Indigenous languages program co-ordinator at Simon Fraser College.
Authorities provided anglicized model of identify
The registry service provided her an anglicized model, KYECN, however for Cunningham, it wasn’t an possibility.
“We try to open a enterprise, and due to this small however huge barrier, we will not,” she stated.
When she challenged the rejection, a consultant from B.C. Registry Companies, run by the Ministry of Residents’ Companies, stated the one plan of action was to sue the provincial authorities in B.C. Supreme Courtroom, which they stated would price upward of $20,000.
As a substitute, she filed a discrimination case with B.C.’s Human Rights Tribunal.
This comes extra than a 12 months after the B.C. authorities handed a movement to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Folks (UNDRIP), which says Indigenous folks have a proper to revitalize and use their languages, and that governments have an obligation to make sure these rights are protected.
“They’ll write the entire stories and acts and all the things, but when they don’t seem to be going to comply with by way of, then they’re simply empty guarantees,” Cunningham stated.
‘Outdated pc system’
Laura Monitor, Cunningham’s lawyer and the director of the human rights clinic on the Neighborhood Authorized Help Society, was baffled to study in regards to the limitations of B.C.’s registration system.
“I definitely did not know that the pc system that the registry used was so outdated that it did not acknowledge any particular characters that may seem in Indigenous languages,” Monitor stated.
The language rule is enshrined in regulation in B.C.’s Enterprise Company Act, which states: “An organization or extraprovincial firm should show its identify … in legible English or French characters.”
However Monitor stated the province’s dedication to UNDRIP ought to compel it to behave swiftly to vary the outdated legal guidelines.
“Amending the Enterprise Companies Act to take away the requirement that companies be registered in English or French can be an essential step towards implementing UNDRIP in B.C.,” she stated.
Cunningham’s case by no means made it to a tribunal listening to as a result of she opted to settle after being advised the provincial authorities would think about adjustments to make it extra inclusive of Indigenous languages within the registration of enterprise names.
However no stable dedication was made and no timeline was given.
Altering system might take years
In a assertion to CBC, the Ministry of Residents’ Companies stated that whereas it understands Cunningham’s frustration, “when contemplating naming requests, B.C. Registry’s system is restricted within the type of textual content characters it will probably course of.”
The assertion additionally stated that “any adjustments would require in-depth dialogue with different authorities jurisdictions and companies throughout Canada, and with non-public sector organizations.”
Meaning Cunningham’s enterprise might not have a Hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓ identify for a number of years.
“Is that this actually permitting Indigenous folks to make use of language in all domains of life or are Indigenous peoples as soon as once more being restricted?” requested Candace Kaleimamoowahinekapu Galla, an assistant professor within the division of language and literacy training at UBC.
She stated with governments in Canada promising to acknowledge Indigenous languages, they must take into consideration how Indigenous languages will be higher represented, whether or not it’s on delivery certificates, authorized paperwork, or ID playing cards, with out counting on the Roman alphabet.
In an announcement, B.C.’s Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation stated that, “the federal government desires to ensure folks can register names of their language. We’ll maintain working arduous to enhance our programs so they’re extra inclusive of Indigenous languages.”
As for Cunningham, she’ll maintain pushing ahead.
“My language is a part of my tradition, it is who I’m.”
