An initiative underway to incorporate Nsyilxcn names onto street signs at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus has empowered two generations of Syilx Okanagan women to reconnect with their heritage and assert their cultural identity. For the past 15 years, UBCO has been integrating the language of the Syilx Okanagan Nation into its campus street names, providing interpretations for names such as Alumni Avenue and University Way. Nsyilxcn is the native language of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, whose traditional territory encompasses UBCO’s campus.
Recently, Syilx Okanagan woman Llana Teichroeb, along with her daughter Kim Kosick, created an online pronunciation guide featuring recordings of themselves enunciating various street names. The guide is now accessible through new QR codes placed on the signposts. Teichroeb and Kosick expressed their desire for the project to contribute to reconciliation efforts.
For Teichroeb, this undertaking was not only about reclaiming her grandmother’s voice, which had been suppressed due to the traumatic legacy of residential schools, but also about rediscovering her own voice and identity. Transitioning from English, which was their primary language, to learning their ancestral language was likened by Teichroeb to a process of retraining mouth muscles and adopting a new cognitive approach. Kosick emphasized the importance of the QR codes in facilitating engagement with the Nsyilxcn language, highlighting their role in promoting active involvement among students.
Beyond the mother-daughter duo, the QR code project also left an imprint on Kosick’s two daughters, who were exposed to Nsyilxcn during their early months as they accompanied their mother and grandmother on campus. In a touching moment, Kosick and Teichroeb, upon graduating in 2024, were joined on stage by Kosick’s children.
Christine Schreyer, the professor overseeing the project and teaching anthropology at UBCO, shared her enthusiasm for the students’ engagement with language revitalization. She mentioned that efforts are underway to expand the use of QR codes to include pronunciations for other words like “bathroom” and “library,” with the aim of further promoting Nsyilxcn language comprehension among the campus community.
Schreyer also highlighted UBCO’s introduction of courses focused on Interior Salish languages like NłeɁkepmx and St’át’imc, underscoring the university’s commitment to linguistic diversity and revitalization efforts. Looking ahead, Schreyer expressed hope that the podcasts created by her students on language revitalization would be widely shared in the future, fostering greater awareness and appreciation for Indigenous languages and cultures.