Ethnologue lists Sk̲wx̱wú7mesh snichim (Squamish or Skwomesh in English) as nearly extinct, but a bottom-up movement led by activist Khelsilem has led to an experiment in immersion DIY style. Khelsilem asked for volunteers from the Skwomesh nation to join him in learning the language at Language House. Five percent of the nation’s members are language learners, and Khelsilem found two others willing to live together in the house in order to interact on a daily basis with the goal of learning Skwomesh. The trio has taken a very twenty-first century path to language revitalization: crowd-funding. Having received no government funds, the group raised money through crowd-funding to establish their immersion experiment. Faced with the threat of Skwomesh becoming extinct, the trio is not only helping to ensure that their ancestral language will continue to be spoken but that their rights as an Indigenous people are maintained. Want to learn more about Sk̲wx̱wú7mesh?  Check out Skwomesh Language Academy.

“From left, Joshua Watts, Khelsilem and Jaymyn La Valle often speak Skwomesh while preparing and eating meals together at Language House.” (CBC/Duncan McCue via http://cbc.ca)