Marianne Ignace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marianne Ignace
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Ignace and her husband at their book launch
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| Born | 1954 (age 70–71) Germany
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| Education | PhD, Anthropology, 1985, Simon Fraser University |
| Spouse(s) | Ronald Ignace |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Simon Fraser University |
| Thesis | The curtain within: the management of social and symbolic classification among the Masset Haida (1985) |
Marianne Boelscher Ignace (born in 1954) is a Canadian expert in languages and cultures. She is a professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She helps lead SFU's programs for Indigenous languages.
In 2020, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This was for her important work in saving and bringing back Indigenous languages. She is married into the Shuswap people.
Early Life and Learning
Ignace was born in Germany in 1954. In the late 1970s, she moved to British Columbia, Canada. She continued her studies in Old Massett on Haida Gwaii. Elders from the Yahgu ‘laanaas Raven clan adopted her there.
In 1985, she earned her PhD in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University (SFU). Her main research was about the Masset Haida people.
Her Work and Achievements
After getting her PhD, Ignace and her husband, Chief Ron Ignace, started a new campus. It was SFU's Kamloops campus, located within the Shuswap nation. They began in an old residential school building.
In their first year, they had 20 students. This number doubled in their second year. Ignace received an SFU's Outstanding Alumni Award. She also won the 2005 CUFA/BC Career Achievement Award.
Ignace helped make Shuswap an optional second language. This was for schools in the Kamloops/Thompson area. She and her husband taught about 450 students. Most of these students were First Nation adults. They had never gone to university before.
In 2013, Ignace became the director of SFU's First Nations Language Centre. She also received a large grant of $2.5 million. This money was to help save Indigenous languages.
While leading the centre, she helped create the Tlli7sa Storybook app. These apps teach about First Nations culture and language. Ignace also helped create a certificate program. This program helps people learn the Squamish language.
A few years later, Ignace and her husband wrote a book together. It was called A Secwépemc People, Land, and Laws. The book shared oral histories and academic research. It won the 2018 Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize.
In 2019, the couple received the Governor General's Award for Innovation. This was for their new way of working with Indigenous communities. That same year, Ignace won an SSHRC Impact Award. This award helped fund her work to document and save British Columbia's Indigenous languages.
In 2020, Ignace was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This honor recognized her important work. She has helped to bring back and protect Indigenous languages.
Family Life
Marianne Ignace and her husband have one daughter. Her name is Julienne. Julienne also graduated from Simon Fraser University.
Selected Books
- Secwépemc People, Land, and Laws: Yerí7 re Stsq'ey's-kucw (2018)
