University's Indigenous Awards Spark Controversy

0:00On March 28th, University of Victoria and British Columbia just renamed its Distinguished Alumni Awards to honor Indigenous Contributions, but the new names in local sales dialects are sparking major backlash online. They call it Lila Waltah, King's Aksnuck, Aksnuck, Scalchorstong, Scalchorstong's SIE, M&E, which roughly translates to, gift for the successful student along ongoing work. Folks say it's nearly impossible to read or pronounce without a linguistics degree. These names come from Lekwongen and Sandwich languages, North Straits Salish dialects spoken by few people today. One elder fluent in Lekwongen passed away last November at 90 years old, and Sandwich had just seven fluent speakers back in 2022. The University swapped them in last April to spotlight Indigenous achievements. Online, people are ripping it apart, calling it woke nonsense and unreadable word salad that mocks alumni.

1:00Critics argue it's virtue signaling no one gets, especially since literacy in these languages is super low, mostly linguists or a handful of. Indigenous speakers, some even say degrees from there look risky on a resume. The school's president, Dr. Robina Thomas, has Indigenous roots and has ramped up support like Indigenous housing named Sekati Long and Snetes. Taito, last year, it's all on Lekwongen territory, tying back to local nations, all sea, this debate shows good intentions clashing with real world readability, leaving everyone wondering if cultural nods like these truly connect or just confuse the crowd.