The B.C. government is providing $500,000 to the First Nations Education Steering Committee Society (FNESC) to support First Nations language teacher education programs, Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto announced today.

The funding will help B.C.'s First Nations further develop and implement teacher education programs leading to a Developmental Standard Term Certificate (DSTC) issued by the BC College of Teachers. Aboriginal persons holding a DSTC in Language and Culture are certified to teach First Nations languages to K to 12 students.

To qualify for a DSTC certificate, students must complete a three-year program that includes: BC College of Teachers academic requirements, course work in First Nations Language and First Nations Studies, as well as a teacher education component delivered by an approved teacher education program at a B.C. university.

Today's funding announcement coincides with National Aboriginal Languages Day, which was established by the Assembly of First Nations in 1989 to create awareness across Canada of the languages of the First Peoples, and to build support for their preservation.

Quick Facts:

• An estimated two-thirds of all indigenous languages in Canada are found in B.C. , the most linguistically diverse region in the country.
• There are as many as 32 distinct First Nations languages in B.C.
• Fluent speakers make up 5.1 per cent of the First Nations population, and most are elders.
• First Nations language learners in B.C. make up 11.1 per cent of the total Aboriginal population.

Learn More:

About the First Nations Education Steering Committee: http://www.fnesc.ca/

Media Contact:

Gordon Keast
Public Affairs Bureau250 952-0132