Oheróhskon Ryan DeCaire

My name is Oheróhskon Ryan DeCaire and I am Kanien’kehá:ka, born and raised in Wáhta Mohawk Territory, Ontario. I am a dedicated Kanien’kéha (Mohawk language) revitalization practitioner, educator, and lifelong learner, and my work is rooted in a commitment to revitalizing  Kanien’kéha and Indigenous languages more broadly. I am currently an Associate Professor in the Centre for Indigenous Studies and the Department of Linguistics here at the University of Toronto. In addition, I serve as an instructor and curriculum developer at Onkwawén:na Kentyóhkwa, an adult language immersion program based in Ohswé:ken (Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario).

Through both scholarship and practice, I am committed to learning about and fostering the conditions necessary to revitalize Indigenous languages locally and abroad. My research and pedagogical interests center on adult second language acquisition within the context of Indigenous language revitalization. Specifically, I investigate the design and efficacy of adult immersion programs as a means of cultivating advanced proficiency in Kanien’kéha for the sake of strengthening the Kanien’kéha speech community and restoring intergenerational language transmission. I have a PhD in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization from Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, the College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo—an institution renowned for its leadership in Indigenous language revitalization and educational innovation.