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 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).

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.

Through both scholarship and practice, I am committed to learning about and fostering the conditions necessary to revitalize Indigenous languages locally and abroad.