Indigenous language now included on Ucluelet bus stop signs — a first for B.C. Transit
Jeneva Touchie has been learning her traditional language, nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth), for seven years — something she's carried on from her grandmother, who taught the language in her community on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Now, as the manager of language services for the Ucluelet First Nation's Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, Touchie has helped bring the language to the local transportation system.
Bus stop signs at all 36 B.C. Transit stops in Tofino, Ucluelet, Long Beach, hitaću, Esowista and Ty-histanis now include both English and Nuu-chah-nulth wording.
"As a language learner and as a language teacher, it means the world to me because it's a really great connection to our land and our home," Touchie told CBC's On The Island host Gregor Craigie.
B.C. Transit says this is the first time an Indigenous language has been included on its signs anywhere within its system, but it does plan to work with other communities to include local languages elsewhere.
Government relations manager Seth Wright said B.C. Transit was inspired to include the Nuu-chah-nulth language on signs after seeing Parks Canada do the same.
"We thought that including Nuu-chah-nulth on all bus stop signs was the right thing to do and supported our respective work towards reconciliation," Wright said.
So, they reached out to the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation for expertise, to try to figure out what words would be appropriate to use.
The names on the signs were created with both Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ and Tla-o-qui-aht dialects in mind, Touchie said.
"It's a working collaboration with our neighbouring nations."
The Nuu-chah-nulth on local signs isn't new to the community; the District of Ucluelet started putting both Nuu-chah-nulth and English on its signs in 2022.
"Ucluelet is very ahead of the times, I would say, because they're trying to incorporate language within the community, and we've been incorporating signs here within our small community of Ittatsoo," Touchie said. "It's been really great to see language kind of blossom and flourish."
She said keeping the local language alive in the community helps both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people understand the history of the Nuu-chah-nulth people.
"Each nation, they've all been there since time immemorial," Touchie said. "But there's, I think, a lack of understanding of what that means for particularly nations that have been there a long time. It's just a really great opportunity to raise those questions and to better understand the nations that surround the communities."
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