Can canada's indigenous languages be saved?

It will be awhile yet before Canadian road signs are written in English, French, _and_ Cree, but the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has called for the Canadian government to declare the

nation's indigenous languages official, _The Globe and Mail_ reports. Nearly 900,000 aboriginal people in Canada belong to one of the more than 600 First Nation tribes. Canada's

2011 census "found more than 60 aboriginal languages grouped into 12 distinct families." And many could be lost altogether if not incorporated into everyday life. Without

intervention, studies warn that nearly all of those languages will eventually die out. So this week, the AFN asked Ottawa for federal funds to be used for indigenous language institutes and

immersion programs, as well as to promote regular usage. AFN's Perry Bellegarde believes that someday it might be mandatory for indigenous languages to be printed alongside French and

English on things such as road signs, milk cartons, or cereal boxes. "That would be the ultimate goal," Bellegarde said. "But let's do the small steps to get there."

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