Program Overview

Your degree in First Nations and Endangered Languages

Skills you’ll develop

During your First Nations and Endangered Languages degree, you’ll develop important skills for the documentation, conservation and revitalization of endangered Indigenous languages while learning about ethical research protocols, community-responsive scholarship, and meaningful partnership with Indigenous communities.

These skills may include:

• Influencing scholarly and public representations of Indigenous languages and cultures within and beyond the academy
• Communicating to diverse audiences the central and interconnected relationship between language, land, and oral history for Indigenous communities
• Developing, practicing and promoting community protocols and perspectives for ethical engagement with First Nations peoples and their languages
• Engaging productively and transparently with community needs, priorities, and local research agendas appropriate to each context
• Designing and implementing language reclamation and revitalization projects drawing on interdisciplinary methodologies, predicated on community-based consultation, participation, and collaboration
• Perceiving, distinguishing and transcribing speech sounds of endangered languages, and understanding their relationships with community-based orthographies
• Recognizing and discovering grammatical structures of endangered languages for the benefit of community-based maintenance and revitalization
• Building individual and community capacity for the application of contextually-appropriate best practices, archival standards and current technologies in multimedia language documentation through recording and archiving
• Promoting or engaging with family-based and community-based language transfer
• Using archival and other legacy resources as vehicles to develop and enhance First Nations and Indigenous language fluency

Career possibilities

Career opportunities vary widely across a range of fields including Indigenous organizations, education, government, business, media, museums, law, and others.

There are many career paths that can combine your academics, skills, and experience with your different interests. Some career options may require further education or training.

• Art conservator or curator
• Campaign manager
• Charitable organization director
• Child and youth worker
• Communications manager
• Community culture and language worker
• Community development worker
• Community program manager
• Community service worker
• Copywriter
• Counsellor
• Cultural site or museum interpreter
• Digital storyteller
• Documentarian or Filmmaker
• Educational policy analyst or advisor
• Economic development officer
• Employment counsellor
• Employment equity officer
• Environmental advisor
• Event planner
• Fundraiser
• Government official
• Grant writer
• Heritage interpreter
• Heritage planner
• Human resources manager
• Human rights officer
• Intergovernmental affairs officer
• Journalist
• Language archivist
• Language instructor
• Lawyer
• Legislator
• Lobbyist
• Media or Information consultant
• Museum administrator
• Museum educator
• Policy advisor
• Political organizer
• Public affairs officer
• Public opinion interviewer
• Public relations specialist
• Rural development officer
• Social enterprise developer
• Social policy researcher
• Speech writer
• Student services counsellor
• Teacher or Professor
• Tourism consultant
• University research assistant
• Urban and land use planning
• Youth worker

Make the most of your program

Your experiences will open doors to new opportunities, develop your skillset, and help you clarify your values and interests.

• AMS Indigenous Committee: Join the Indigenous Committee in hosting events, providing support to Indigenous clubs, and advocating for Indigenous rights on campus.
• Arts Indigenous Student Advising: Receive academic and cultural support from Arts Indigenous Student Advising to help meet your educational and personal goals at UBC.
• Departmental research opportunities: Reach out directly to faculty members to ask about potential research positions.
• Endangered Language Fund: Browse various resources for revitalizing and reclaiming languages.
• First Peoples’ Cultural Council: Find initiatives, grants, or programs related to reviving Indigenous languages, arts, and cultures within Canada.
• Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool: Search for post-secondary scholarship opportunities for Indigenous students across Canada.
• šxʷta:təχʷəm student space: Connect with an Indigenous elder or UBC professor, make lunch or meet up with friends between classes, or take part in cultural practices, such as smudging, and community practices like talking circles.
• Indigenous organizations and services: Gain volunteer and work experience in local organizations using this BC Government guide.
• Indigenous Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program: Apply in term 1 to get paired with a faculty member in this four-month research mentorship program for Indigenous students.
• Indigenous Youth Internship Program: Apply in term 2 for a 12-month paid internship sponsored by the BC Government.
• UBC Indigenous events: Connect with students and faculty members at a variety of events.
• Unceded Airwaves: Tune into Unceded Airwaves, a bi-weekly radio program produced by CiTR’s Indigenous Collective.

Build your network

Employers often hire people they know, so help them get to know you. You can build your network through clubs, classes, informational interviews, and more. There are so many ways to make connections and find mentors.

The professional associations below are also great resources for meeting people, learning about specific industries, and finding job and volunteer opportunities. Most have reduced membership rates for students and new grads.

• Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of BC
• Assembly of First Nations
• BC Aboriginal Child Care Society
• BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society
• BC Assembly of First Nations
• BC Association of Professional Archaeologists
• BC Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
• BC Public Service
• Canadian Council for Indigenous Business
• Canadian Museum of History
• Canadian Museums Association
• Canadian Public Relations Society
• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
• Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers
• Endangered Language Fund
• Endangered Languages Project
• First Nations Education Council
• First Peoples’ Cultural Council
• Foundation for Endangered Languages Canada
• Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
• Indigenous Corporate Training
• Indigenous Foundations
• Indigenous Language Organizations
• Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
• Indigenous Tourism BC
• Indigenous Works
• Institute for Research on Public Policy
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
• Métis Nation British Columbia
• Museum of Anthropology
• Musqueam Nation
• National Aboriginal Forestry Association
• Native Women’s Association of Canada
• Urban Native Youth Association: 2-Spirit Collective
• WorkInCulture

Connect with alumni

Learn about possible career paths by browsing alumni stories or viewing the profiles of UBC First Nations and Endangered Languages graduates on LinkedIn.

As you read, take note of interesting job titles, organizations, and experiences you may want to explore. If a particular story or profile aligns with your goals, consider reaching out for an informational interview.

More information

Throughout your Arts degree, you’ll develop skills and experiences that can translate into many career paths. Check out other things you can do with your Arts degree.

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We acknowledge that the UBC Vancouver campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).