Í:wehre aónhton ne Kanyen’kéha owén:na ká:ron ne 2,500 khok nihá:ti shontá:ti ne Canada tánon U.S.A. Tsi ní:yoht tsi tayo’serennentonhátye ne rontá:tis raotiwén:na ne tsi rati’terón:ton ne Kanyen’kehá:ka, tahonatyohkowahnhá:sere nen’né:’e ne Onkwehón:we ne Canada.
Ónen’ yeyóhe aonsahonwatirihón:nyen aonsahontá:ti ne shonatehyarón:tye, taonsontkahrhaté:ni tsi tayo’serennenhtonhátye ne rontá:tis raotiwén:na ne Onkwehhón:we ne Canada, ne Truth and Reconciliation Commission ohnà:ken shotihyá:ton rotiri’wanón:ton ne sénha í:si’ nón:we nakayénta’ne ne ahontéweyenste tánon ne tsi nihotirihò:ten.
Ne ki’ aorí:wa yakwari’wanóntha ayonkwayénta’ne ne Kenhtè:ke ne Owén:na tánon tsi Niyonkwarihò:ten aontontahsharón:ten ne Tyendinaga.
The Mohawk language is considered endangered, with less than 2,500 speakers in Canada and the USA. While the number of first language speakers is declining across all Mohawk territories, the population of Indigenous Peoples in Canada is growing.
The time to build and invest in a next generation of speakers is now. To reverse the decline of Indigenous languages in Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report called for the establishment of more education and cultural spaces.
That’s why we’re proposing the creation of a Kenhtè:ke Language and Cultural Centre in Tyendinaga.
