Aboriginal radio station to revive K'omoks language

A new radio station approved this month for the Campbell River area will partly broadcast in a language spoken by fewer than two dozen people.

Darren Blaney, an elected councillor of the Homalco First Nation, hopes that six hours a week of K'omoks-languageprogramming will help reverse the decline ofthe indigenous language and introduceit to a new generation.

"Within our community we've got maybe 20 or so [people] thatcan speak it fairly competently, out of 500,"Blaneysaid. "It's in pretty dire straits right now."

"That's what residential school did, was disconnect us from our language," he toldOnthe IslandhostGregorCraigie.

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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) approved the application by the the non-profit AupeCultural Enhancement Society and the Homalco First Nation onOct.14.

Along with 106 hours of country music programming each week, the station will broadcast 20 hours of community news, sports, weather, traffic and other community information in English and K'omoks.

Blaney, who is also aformer chief of theHomalcoFirst Nation, saida key goal for the stationis to provide young members with training and work opportunitiesand toconnect them withtheir traditional culture and language.

Over the next year, he said, programming will be developed and funds raised to train young Homalco First Nationmembers on broadcasting basics.

While the federal government committed$8.4-billion towards First Nations in its last budget, Blaney said his community cannot afford to wait for funding that will be spread out over five years.

"In the meantime, we've got kids that are getting into alcohol and drugs and stuff," he said.

The station must begin broadcasting by October 2018.

On The Island6:45Aboriginal radio station to revive K'omoks language

A new radio station approved this month for the Campbell River area will broadcast a language spoken fluently by less than two dozen people.