Are Indigenous languages more than communication systems?

Short Answer #

Yes. Indigenous languages are also knowledge systems that carry unique ways of understanding relationships, history, culture, land, identity, and community.

Expanded Answer #

People often think of language primarily as a way to communicate. While communication is important, language also carries knowledge. Within Indigenous languages we often find:

• Place-based knowledge
• Cultural teachings
• Historical memory
• Ecological understanding
• Community values
• Relationships to land
• Ways of understanding the world

Many concepts expressed naturally within Indigenous languages may not translate perfectly into English or other languages. This is one reason language revitalization is about more than preserving words. It is also about preserving knowledge systems. When a language grows stronger, opportunities to access and transmit that knowledge also become stronger.