Peter Jacobs

Tiná7 tkwa Wiwiḵ’em ta Peter (Peter comes from a Squamish Nation village, Wiwḵ’em, near Brackendale, B.C.). Galułi lax̱ Tsax̱is (he is also from the Kwaguł village of Tsax̱is, Fort Rupert, B.C.). Peter worked for over 25 years at the Squamish Nation in language revitalization of the Sḵwx̱wu7mesh snichim, the language of his father’s side of his family. He also conducts research on Kwak’wala, the language of his mother’s side of his family. He taught at the University of Victoria for five years before moving to SFU.

At the Squamish Nation, he was the editor-in-chief for the Sḵwx̱wu7mesh Snichim-Xweliten Snichim Sḵexwts (Squamish-English Dictionary). At the University of Victoria, he was co-investigator on a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant with Dr. Onowa McIvor. They investigated adult language learners in the Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP) and other MAP-like programs in B.C. He is currently a co-principal investigator with Dr. McIvor on a 6-year SSHRC Partnership Grant. With their partners from 9 First Nations communities across Canada, they are investigating the role of adult learners of their Indigenous languages.

Research Interests: Squamish, Kwak’wala, Indigenous language revitalization.