An explosion of interest in the languages in the last five years
"The number of fluent First Nations language speakers in B.C. are dwindling, but a new report shows the number of people learning the languages is on the rise. "The decline of fluent speakers is not a surprise because many elders are getting on in age," said Lorna Williams, chairwoman of the First Peoples' Cultural Council, which undertook the study. The Crown corporation was created in 1990 to advocate for arts, language and culture. "But there is cause for celebration when you look at all the new learners. Everybody says it is an impossible task because of the diversity of the languages, because they're not spoken, but it's happening."
British Columbia is home to 34 First Nations languages.
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