Doig River First Nation ‘taking break’ with no 2026 language revitalization event

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — After holding events on the renaissance of the Beaver language, a northeast B.C. First Nation will pause for 2026.

Doig River First Nation (DRFN) hosted two ‘Reawakening of our Language’ events in Fort St. John in 2024 and 2025, with both events quickly selling out of allotted space for attendees.

However, in a statement to Energeticcity.ca, DRFN cultural heritage and language manager Thomas Whitton says there will be at least a hiatus of a year.

“The momentum we were hoping to garner has been accomplished,” said Whitton. “Ultimately the goal of the events was to create excitement about language or revitalization.”

According to Whitton, three First Nations communities within the region opened cultural language and heritage departments similar to DRFN since the first event.

The event featured workshops, keynote speeches and sessions dedicated to preserving the Dane-zaa or Beaver language, which is the ancestral mother tongue of Indigenous communities in northeast B.C.

Both events featured an address by Christopher Parkin of the Salish School of Spokane, Washington, a language immersion school founded in 2010.

The events were hosted by DRFN in partnership with Northern Lights College and the University of Northern British Columbia.