Interview with Lorna Wánosts’a7 Williams, Rosa Andrew, and Susan Nelson

The Mind of a Child Face to Face Media Ltd. LORNA WILLIAMS SR 29 This will be close up sound for ____ on the porch. (Woman and child speaking Indian language) BEEP BEEP And cut that ... This will be take two for sound on the porch. (Woman speaking Indian language) And cut. That was take two. BEEP BEEP One two three four. This is late I.D. This is roll 29, the 10th of October, 1993. And our next slate will be 131, CR 37. Wild sound on porch with kittens. (Women speaking Indian language) BEEP (Women speaking Indian) This will be 132 head. BEEP (Woman speaking Indian) BEEP (Woman speaking Indian) Next will be 134 head. This will be take three. Camera roll 38. PAGE - SR 29 The Mind of a Child Face to Face Media Ltd. LORNA WILLIAMS SR 29 BEEP (Women speaking Indian) This will be wild sound. (Woman and child speaking Indian) This will be for sound. (Child) BEEP BEEP (Child) (Woman and child) And once more ... (Woman and child) Next we’ll have Lorna arriving in front of the house. This will be wild to go with picture. Pulling up in a black car. That was a rehearsal. And the car was leaving as Lorna was arriving and now we’ll do a second take and this should be going with picture. BEEP 136 tail .. no lights. That was no light showing on that one. Lights were off. That was 136 tail. The lights were off and the next one will be 137. BEEP 137 tail. PAGE - SR 29 The Mind of a Child Face to Face Media Ltd. LORNA WILLIAMS SR 29 This will be 138 head slate. BEEP LORNA Um, when I was, um, when I went to residential school in Williams Lake, we couldn’t talk our language and then, but there was some, there were Chilcotins, Shuswap up there and people from all over the place and so when I came home after two years, I didn’t, I didn’t know what language I could speak because in grade one, I, I went to school and I only spoke English and (Native) and then I learned the English and I seemed to be able to learn it okay. Like really fast because, um, my brothers were helping me with some words. And then when I was sent away to residential school, then I came home and I was getting all mixed up, like all the vocabulary, so there would be some English, some French some Shuswap, Chilcotin, some of my own words, then everybody used to laugh at me. And so, I used to go and babysit down the other end of the village and so I used to come out of the house and then go, walk by W___ house and she would be saying to be ... (Indian). I remember many times I was trying to think of what I could say to her and so one day I, I worked out a whole sentence and I got Mom to help me and I was, so I walked by and when W_____ said (Indian), I was able to say to her (Indian) and then, then that was the first and then the next sentence I said, I wanted, I wanted to initiate the conversation so I said to her, (Indian) and then she seemed to catch on that I was wanting to, to, to learn so every day she would add, make the sentence a bit longer and then a little longer and then she forced me to respond in different ways. And so I’d go home and all day before I was going to go over to babysit, I was, um, I was, and working out sentences in my mind and then gradually over the months it, I was really able to learn it again. And so, language then I think is really PAGE - SR 29 The Mind of a Child Face to Face Media Ltd. LORNA WILLIAMS SR 29 important and when I think about the, you know, the policies and the regulations that, um, that said that in order for us to learn English we had to forget our own language. That, um, it’s more than, it’s more than just having an ability to speak and a language, a language is much, much more. And, um, um, I know that for you it’s become really more important too. Here with, with your kids. WOMAN Ya, I feel it’s important for them to know the language, just to, because of who they are. I want them to, um, to be proud of who they are. Proud ____. LORNA So what have you been doing to, to help them do you think? WOMAN Well, I moved schools, I moved them to our own school. Where they do teach the language but I, I still think they can do more. They only get like an hour and a half a week of our language and I think it should be, they should be taught in our own language. Ya, and have an English class if that’s, you know, if they have to learn English. LORNA I think we have to turn it around too. I think we have to turn it around to, from, um, what happened to our parents. Um, not to the point of where we have to beat it into them, like our parents were beaten for speaking our own language, but ... because if we don’t, um, teach our children, then we’re the last generation that know the language and if we don’t teach them in our language, it’s going to be lost. You know, something just crossed my mind, you know, when you were talking about language, because when I went to Europe, I was over there trying to learn German and I just had a terrible time trying to remember the pronunciation and all that and when I came home, that was one of my main goals PAGE - SR 29 The Mind of a Child Face to Face Media Ltd. LORNA WILLIAMS SR 29 too, was to learn our own language because why was I over there trying to learn someone else’s language so ... it’s pretty understandable. I sometimes get embarrassed because I don’t know my language. You know, but it’s not our fault, you know. What do you think the language gives us. Knowing our language? For me I thing I would be proud to be able to speak my own language. You know, it would, uh, like when I hear Japanese or Chinese, you know, they really speak their own language. I’m proud of them you know. I envy them. Would be a big part of the feeling that has to come, or has to be done. Self esteem. Would come from hearing ourself, I think. BEEP 139 tail. PAGE - SR 29