Ainu Rebels

The Ainu are indigenous people of Japan and far eastern Russia who traditionally spoke languages of the Ainu language family for which no genetic relationship to other language families has been established. However, the only surviving member of the language family is Hokkaido Ainu which is spoken on the large northern island of Japan. In the 19th century, the Japanese government decided to annex the entire island of Hokkaido and to adopt a policy of cultural assimilation for the Ainu as part of their goal of Western-style of modernization. Their aboriginal status was removed and they were given Japanese citizenship and expected to conform to Japanese ways of life. The Ainu faced heavy discrimination which resulted in intermarriage with Japanese people in order to reduce visible Ainu traits. This policy from the Japanese had disastrous effects on the transmission of Ainu culture and the Ainu language. It is difficult to conclusively quantify, but currently there are about 100 speakers of Ainu, most of whom are elderly, and few speak the language regularly.

In 2008, the Japanese reverted their policy of ethnic assimilation and granted the Ainu indigenous status again. In recent times, there have been attempts at language and culture revitalization. Courses in the Ainu language have been offered to interested learners, and material in Ainu can be found online. There have also been increasing instances of young people getting interested in Ainu culture and starting to continue traditional practices of dancing, art, music, and language. One example is the band the Ainu Rebels composed of Ainu people in their 20s and 30s who perform music and dance combining traditional Ainu features with hip hop and R&B. This is a news feature on them:

Ainu is classified as a moribund language, but hopefully with new generations of Ainu revitalizing traditional practices and adapting them for their own contemporary context, the Ainu language can be preserved and Ainu youth (and other youth of endangered language communities) can be inspired.

One especially notable thing about the interview with the Ainu Rebels is that they mention being inspired by Canadian indigenous people using their native language for contemporary music. Endangered languages of the world and their processes of language extinction and revitalization have patterns- they are not all isolated and independent events. With communication between these communities, we can find these patterns and use them to aid our own communities' language revitalization.

This is a live performance by the Ainu Rebels along with another interview: