DR. DEBRA RUSSELL, DR. KRISTIN SNODDON & EBONY R. GOODEN

Challenges and Calls to Action: A Multicultural Lens applied to the Deaf community

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As Haque and Patrick (2015: 27) have argued, Canada’s policy of multiculturalism within a framework of official bilingualism has worked to maintain a “white-settler nation” that marginalizes linguistic and racial difference (Kim et al., 2019). In seeking to gain symbolic recognition of American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) via the 2019 Accessible Canada Act, Deaf advocacy organizations have appeared to emulate official bilingualism policies and thereby reproduce the linguistic and racial order of a white-settler nation (Snoddon & Wilkinson, 2019; 2021b). This recognition also rests on a disability framework of access via sign language interpreters instead of a multiculturalism lens of sign language rights. However, in 2019 Indigenous communities secured not only recognition of Indigenous sign language access rights alongside ASL and LSQ via the Accessible Canada Act but also recognition of Indigenous sign languages within the Indigenous Languages Act, which aims to support and promote the use of Indigenous languages and support the efforts of Indigenous peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages. This recent legal recognition of sign languages has taken place in a landscape where due to Deaf children’s lack of access to sign languages in education, Deaf people have fewer social networking opportunities and fewer shared linguistic experiences (Snoddon & Wilkinson, 2021a). There is also increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in deaf communities.

 

However, amidst this changing landscape we need to examine the demographics of the signed language interpreters that are serving the Deaf community, from children in educational settings to adults accessing community events. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and rallies across Canada, it became very clear that there are insufficient interpreters that reflect the BIPOC community. Deaf advocates invited to present at BLM events were challenged to find suitable BIPOC interpreters and/or allies that could perform the work to the standard required for political and activism discourse. The impact of having to work with interpreters that were not Black resulted in further emotional labour on the part of the Black presenters (Brunson, 2010).  In a recent survey of Canadian Interpreter Education Programs (IEP), one of the key issues identified by program administrators was difficulty in recruiting and retaining students that reflect the diversity of the Deaf community, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community members (Russell & Howard, in progress). What strategies must be implemented in order for IEPs to be able to recruit diverse students and to address their learning needs in order to retain them? This presentation will offer insight into some of the complexity of changing the face of the interpreting profession while incorporating a lens of multiculturalism.

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Debra Russell, PhD, is a certified interpreter, educator and researcher. As the previous David Peikoff Chair of Deaf Studies, at the University of Alberta, her research interests include mediated education with interpreters, interpreting in legal settings and with legal discourse, and Deaf-hearing interpreter teams. She is extensively published in the field of interpretation. Her interpreting practice spans over thirty years, and continues focus on medical, legal, mental health and employment settings. She has had a long history of leadership positions at the local, national and international level, serving on several volunteer organizations. She is the past President of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI), and a Commissioner for the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE).

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Kristin Snoddon, Ph.D. is Associate Professor with the School of Early Childhood Studies, Ryerson University. Her research and professional experience includes collaborative work with deaf communities in developing sign language and early literacy programming for young deaf children and their parents. Her longstanding program of research has focused on developing a parent American Sign Language curriculum that is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Additionally, she analyzes policy issues related to inclusive education, sign language rights, and acquisition planning for ASL. Since 2016, she has served as Co-ordinator for the World Federation of the Deaf’s Expert Group on Deaf Education. She also serves as Executive Editor for Deafness & Education International. Her newest book is Critical Perspectives on Plurilingualism in Deaf Education (with Joanne Weber).

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Ebony R. Gooden is a freelance artist, graphic artist and Vlogger based in Calgary Alberta. Originally from the US she earned her BA in digital communication and visual/multi media arts from Gallaudet University.  She is active in the Calgary arts community, consulting on issues of accessibility and equity for artists who are Deaf or hard of hearing. She was one of the Black Deaf Facilitators working with Black Kid Joy, a two-week workshop designed to educate, support and uplift young Black artists to ensure their voices were validated in a unique way.Most recently she was part of a four-woman collaborative project that resulted in the creation of an American Sign Language name sign for Kamala Harris, that reflects her Black-Indian heritage and the fact that she is the first female to hold the office of Vice-President. Ebony’s activism during provincial Black Lives Matter rallies raised the crucial issue of insufficient Black interpreters in Alberta, and across Canada, the impact of working with interpreters that do not reflect the Black Deaf community and nor are they able to use Black ASL (BASL).

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