
First batch of UFV Stó:lō language students walk the graduation stage
CHILLIWACK — An oral dialect spoken by the Stó:lō communities for thousands of years could soon continue to thrive after the first cohort of eight Halq’eméylem students graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) this month.
The Upriver Halq’éméylem dialect was used by Indigenous people along the Fraser River and its tributaries, on Vancouver Island and in some areas of Washington. It was first written down in 1976 by the Coqualeetza Elders Group and linguist Brent Galloway, with assistance from UFV honorary degree recipients Elizabeth Herrling and Siyamiyateliyot Elizabeth Phillips in the preservation work.
That effort then allowed UFV’s Modern Languages department to keep the language alive – which is especially crucial with only one living fluent speaker left to share it. The university’s graduate diploma program started as a language course in 2005, but Associate Professor Mary Stewart has been teaching the dialect for the past 30 years thanks to her education from the Stó:lō Nation Agency.
“They offered classes during the day. It was all day. So, I gave up my job and started learning Upriver Halq’eméylem. It was only going to be for six months — but it’s been a lifelong journey,” she said.