That the normally pragmatic and frugal-minded [Don] Drummond accepts the need to spend enormous sums in perpetuity pursuing a wholly undefined and unbounded effort to revive dozens of already-abandoned native languages may be seen as evidence of how sentiment, rather than science or evidence, has taken control of the Indigenous language debate. … In fact, there is good academic evidence that cataloguing and recording for archival purposes may be the best that can be hoped for the majority of Canada’s Indigenous languages. … Accepting the utility of a modern dominant language is not an exercise in cultural homogenization or linguistic colonialism. It is simply recognition of the tremendous benefits arising from barrier-free communication via a common language. … Attempting to fulfil the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action on Indigenous languages by permitting a host of new quasi-official languages few people can speak or by embarking on a doomed experiment to revive dying languages on reserves may be the latest attempt at expiating white guilt over the legacy of the residential schools system. But that doesn’t mean it’s a wise use of resources, time or effort.