March 15, 2024
Star Wars adds buzz to language revival
A director of a Canadian Indigenous television service says despite a shift by especially younger viewers away from broadcast television, it still has a vital role to play in language revitalisation.
Mike Omelus, who spoke at this week’s Hawaikirangi 2024 World Indigenous Content Conference in Manukay, says ATPN creates content in English, French and up to 17 of the 54 native languages every year.
“We’ve just helped kickstart a project to create an Anishinaabemowin version of Star Wars, A New Hope. And that’s something that I think kids are going to be excited about. Becauseit creates a buzz about their language. And when your language becomes hip and cool, you want to speak it, you want to learn it. You want to redouble your efforts to learn that language,” he says.\
Mike Omelus says there is ongoing interest in capturing oral histories, and there is also considerable crossover potential in drama.