Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalization — 20 Years

A Shared Vision

For over 45 years, UVic has been committed to local and national language revitalization efforts working closely with Indigenous organizations, Elders, community-based researchers, community language experts and educators.

The Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalization (CILR) started in 2005 as a partnership between the En’owkin Centre, the Department of Linguistics and the Division of Continuing Studies at the University of Victoria.

Over the past 20 years, the CILR program has collaborated with many dedicated and inspiring community partners to create customized community-based programming. In 2022, CILR added a National Online Cohort which runs every two years.

Keynote topic: 20 years of Indigenous Language Revitalization

Dr Mary Hermes will share her reflections on the gains in Indigenous language revitalization in the past 20 years. With a focus on the territory where Dr. Mary Hermes lives and works, Ojibwe county, she will share about a growing appreciation for listening to land, as a participant in our sense making. This idea has led to the most ambitious project her nonprofit, Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia, has ever attempted; the video game, Reclaim! Play the demo.

Keynote speaker

Dr. Mary Hermes, Waabishkiimiigwan, is known for her work in Ojibwe and Indigenous language revitalization throughout the Great Lakes and globally. She co-founded Waadookodaading Ojibwe Immersion Schools, created "Ojibwe Movies" and Ojibwe 7000 software, and has over 25 publications on the topic. Currently, she is producing Reclaim!, the first point-and-click adventure game in the Ojibwe language (release date January 2026), and directs the Indigenous Languages Makers and Materials Center at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.