HÍSW̱ḴE ȻENS ḰÁL,TOṈES
Thank you for speaking the language with me.
ÍY, SȻÁĆEL Welcome to SENĆOŦEN.org, ÍY, ȻENS TÁĆEL. It’s good that you’ve arrived. This website is a tool to help you learn the traditional language of the W̱SÁNEĆ People.
Word of the Day
Start Learning SENĆOŦEN
Choose from a list of lessons on this page to begin your language learning. Start with the fundamentals, and grow from there.
W̱SÁNEĆ Traditional Territory
Learn about the traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ people, and see traditional place names and other points of interest.
Learn about Language Survival
Learn more about the effort and team making language survival and revitalization possible, view this interactive presentation.
Install SENĆOŦEN Font/Keyboard
There are 38 characters in our alphabet, which includes a combination of English and special characters.
First Voices
FirstVoices provides technology, training and technical support to community language champions.
Our Team
Our Group of Language Champions
SX̱EDŦELISIYE
SX̱EDŦELISIYE
SX̱EDŦELISIYERenee Sampson-James
SX̱EDŦELISIYE ŦE NE SNÁ Ć,SE LÁ,E EṮ W̱SÁNEĆ. My W̱ENITEM, ḴEN SNÁ is Renee Sampson-James. My family comes from the W̱SÁNEĆ territory specifically BOḰEĆEN and W̱JOȽEȽP. I have been a language learner since my eldest daughter was born in 2004. This is where I began my language journey I did it for my children.
I started working as a SENĆOŦEN apprentice in 2009 at the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. I was the first teacher at the LE,NOṈET SCUL,ÁUTW̱SENĆOŦEN survival immersion school. I later became the SENĆOŦEN kindergarten teacher for over 7 years in the Immersion stream at ȽÁU,WEL,ṈEW̱ School (ȽTS). I graduated with my Masters in Indigenous language revitalization (M.Ed) over 5 years ago. I am currently a SENĆOŦEN professor at the University of Victoria in the W̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTW̱ language revitalization diploma and I also teach language in the SENĆOŦEN Bachelors of Education at UVic. I currently am working as the SENĆOŦEN language facilitator for ȽTS and W̱SÁENĆ Leadership Secondary School (W̱LSS). My dream is to see the very first cohort of immersion students graduate in the bilingual program and enter into the W̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTW̱ post-secondary program.
ȻOSINIYE
ȻOSINIYE
ȻOSINIYE
Linda Elliott
ȻOSINIYE has worked for the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board for over 40 years teaching the SENĆOŦEN language. She is a language warrior and her dedication to her language does not go unnoticed to all her students. She has taught over 100 W̱SÁNEĆ children and continues to teach teachers and educational assistance and support workers bi-weekly. ȻOSINIYE also is technically savvy and uses a program called voice thread to teach on-line. ȻOSINIYE is one of our most cherished language holders and she works with her relatives weekly in our SELW̱ÁN elders group transcribing and creating SENĆOŦEN resources.
NENSIMU
NENSIMU
NENSIMU
Rita Morris
ÍY, SȻÁĆEL MEQ SÁN, NENSIMU ŦE NE SNÁ, Ć,SE LÁE SEN EṮ W̱SANEĆ. NE JOMEḰ
I, SILE LE Ć,SE LÁ,E EṮ WJOȽEȽP, PAUQEĆEN, SX̱IMÁȽEȽ.
I’m honored to be teaching at our ȽÁU,WEL,ṈEW̱ School (2001) in the immersion program(2012), Along with my certification, B. Ed M. Ed, 2018, my most valuable learning comes from learning and teaching SENĆOŦEN. I’ve always had an interest in our treasured languages, having grown up listening to my SELSILE LE speaking to each other in both HOLKOMINEM and SENĆOŦEN. Now that I am a grandparent more than ever I feel the importance of passing the teachings on to the family.
I am learning to speak now a part of my life long journey , it’s not always easy but, It is very rewarding. Someone said before that our languages must have equal status to English, and that is my hope. Bringing SENĆOŦEN our beautiful language back to our tables and lands is honouring the resilience and work of our ancestors. I am optimistic about our language as we work daily and year round to help each other do the same.
J,SIṈTEN
J,SIṈTEN
J,SIṈTEN
Dr. John Elliott Sr.
J,SIṈTEN is known for his dedication and commitment to language revitalization. He is a W̱SÁNEĆ historian and knowledge keeper of many ancient W̱SÁNEĆ technologies. He has learned many teachings from his parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. They shared many important W̱SÁNEĆ laws of the land with him. He teaches many place based courses and is a true steward of the land. He has worked over 40 years in the language at the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. He worked with his sister ȻOSINIYE and late cousins teaching SENĆOŦEN at the elementary school and high school in W̱SÁNEĆ. J,SIṈTEN continues to sit on many committees and boards for language revitalization efforts in British Columbia and has travelled internationally many times to speak about language revitalization efforts in BC.
Currently J,SIṈTEN is a professor at the University of Victoria and teaches in the in the W̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTW̱ language revitalization diploma and also teaches language in the SENĆOŦEN Bachelors of Education program at University of Victoria. He also teaches seasonal classes at Camosun college in Vicoria, BC. J,SIṈTEN has inspired many young people to learn SENĆOŦEN and his love for the language radiates through him.
SELILIYE
SELILIYE
My ancestral name is SELILIYE which is my late grandmother Lucy Pelkeys traditional name on my mother’s side of the family. 2003-2008 (5 years): I worked on the revitalization of our SENĆOŦEN language in partnership with the University of Victoria through the CURA grant. I worked with Andy Paul, late Elder Ray Sam and late Ivan Morris. 2009-presently: I have worked for W̱SÁNEĆ School Board in the SȾÁSEN TŦE SENĆOŦEN program. One language goal that we attained and accomplished that I participated in was the creation of our SENĆOŦEN Dictionary in 2017. My hopes and dreams for SENĆOŦEN is that we all can speak in our own mother tongue and converse and share stories and that all our young children are offered the language. I also hope to see more books in our language and our traditional stories shared on TV land. Hopefully one day we will own our very own radio station in Saanich as well.
MENEŦIYE
MENEŦIYE
MENEŦIYE
Elisha Elliott
My name is MENEŦIYE Elisha Elliott and I come from the W̱SÁNEĆ nation. I come from the JESIṈSET ŚW̱ELO₭E from the village of W̱JOȽEȽP. I have been working in the SȾÁ,SEN TŦE SENĆOŦEN language department since 2009 and I have been working as a SENĆOŦEN Immersion teacher in the LE,NOṈET SCULÁUTW̱ SENĆOŦEN Immersion School since 2015. I hope that our children build a strong connection with their language and their homelands, and the next generations will carry a strong proud identity as W̱SÁNEĆ people.
SŦX̱ILEMTENOT
SŦX̱ILEMTENOT
SŦX̱ILEMTENOT
Josephine Henry
ÍY, SȻÁĆEL
My name is SŦX̱ILEMTENOT Josephine Henry. I am a 5th year SENĆOŦEN language apprentice for SȾÁ,SEN TŦE SENĆOŦEN. I am also pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Education with a goal of coming home to teach in our SENĆOŦEN Immersion School. My ambition lies in continuously contributing to the development of SENĆOŦEN language speakers/language proficiency and the overall highest good, healing and well-being of our EȽTÁLṈEW̱, our people, through language.
WENWONELWET
WENWONELWET
WENWONELWET
Katia Olsen
I began working with the language in 2016, when I enrolled in W̱,SENĆOŦENIST the Diploma in Indigenous Language Revitalization. Since then I have completed the diploma and graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Indigenous Language Revitalization. I have been teaching at ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱Tribal School in the LE,NOṈET SCUL,ÁUTW̱Immersion program since January of 2020.
My hopes and dreams for our language is that it is more alive and we eventually have a community of speakers. It is my hope to see it more in community as well as in the school. I am very proud of the progress our community has made and the efforts that our children are putting in so far.
STIWET
STIWET
STIWET
James Elliott
ĆE,ÁȽE SEN EṮ TŦE W̱SÁNEĆ EȽTÁLṈEW̱, (EṈ,(EṈ SEN I HÁEQ TŦE &IĆISTEṈS EṮ TŦE SṮELIṮḴEȽ, TŦE EṈIṈES, I TŦE TELTIȻEN. EȻOSTEṈS TŦE SṮELIṮḴEȽ EṮ TŦE SELÁLEW̱ TŦE S(ENÁṈS E TŦE SOXELI. YOŦ OL U, OȽNEW̱ TŦE SṮELIṮḴEȽ TŦE SELÁLEW̱, NII, SE TŦE S(ENIEṈ E TŦE TUETOTELṈEW I TŦE W̱UĆISTENEḴ.
I am from the W̱SÁNEĆ People. I can remember the way the Children, Grandchildren, Nieces, Nephews, were taught. How Elders taught Children the Sacred path of life as a W̱SÁNEĆ Person. The Elders always found a way to show care and love for the Children. This is the &SÁNEĆ way of the Student and the Teacher. SIÁM NE SĆÁLEĆE. My W̱SÁNEĆ name is STIWET, and my given English name is James or most call me Jim. My parents were speakers of the SENĆOŦEN language. I grew up listening to humour, stories, history, being told in the SENĆOŦEN language. I first attended community based SENĆOŦEN classes during the year 2000. It was during 2010 that I began to take school courses that would lead to completing a Bachelors of Education degree in language revitalization in 2015 with the University of Victoria. The sound of a fluent SENĆOŦEN speaker reminds me of beautiful poetry.
I believe that our SENĆOŦEN language belongs in all areas of our lives. I look forward to the day that students from our community are writing books, University papers, Poetry, History, planning, letters, emails all in our SENĆOŦEN language. My hope is to share with students and community members the beauty of our SENĆOŦEN language.
XLAXELWET
XLAXELWET
XLAXELWET
Kiona Bob
Currently teaching grade 6 SENĆOŦEN immersion and grade 2 SENĆOŦEN math.
Bachelor of Education Degree in Indigenous Language Revitalization and Diploma in Indigenous Language Revitalization.
I am a passionate language speaker, I value the time spent learning with mentors and friends. I enjoy teaching and learning alongside my students. I take great pride in my job and the work I do in the language. Learning and speaking SENĆOŦEN gave me a fire inside myself to keep the language alive and thriving. With each student I teach, they bring so much value to my work and truly make me feel blessed. I have a beautiful son ÍYOSTEN. I cannot wait till he joins our immersion program at ȽÁUWELNEW̱ Tribal School. He is the reason I have pushed myself and worked hard in my education to create a good life for us. We both love to sing and dance; it enhances the teaching experience for me being able to have my culture so intertwined with my work and home life. Outside of work I like to stay active at the gym and spend time with friends and family.
More About Us
SENĆOŦEN Department
Left-Rright top row: I,ÍYMELWET (Megan Supernault -SENĆOŦEN B.Ed Student), J,SIṈTEN (Dr.John Elliott Sr.), YEXWESTEN (Lawerence Bartleman-Immersion EA), SI,OLTENOT (Maddy Bartleman-Immersion Teacher), PENÁW̱EṈ Elliott (Immersion teacher), WENWONELTWET (Katia Olsen-Immersion teacher), QELEQESEĆEN (Tye Swallow- SȾÁSEN Culture & Language & grant writer Manager), ḴÁḰELEMTENOT (Shantelle Voyager-Immersion EA),
Left to right bottom row: PENÁĆ (David G.Underwood-SENĆOŦEN professor & Immersion teacher), ŦE,PÁŦIYE (Linea Ollett-Immersion EA), UMEK (Sandra Howard (Immersion EA), SX̱EDŦELISIYE (Renee Sampson-SENĆOŦEN professor & Immersion facilitator), MENEŦIYE (Elisha Elliott-Immersion teacher), STIWET (Jim Elliott-Immersion teacher), XEDXELMEȽOT (Janice Elliott-Immersion teacher).