Schools actively promoting Indigenous languages

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Eight Aboriginal languages are spoken in Yukon Territory, and the Yukon Native Language Centre (YNLC) is kept busy teaching, documenting and promoting them all. Located on the Whitehorse campus of Yukon College, the centre is administered by the Council of Yukon First Nations with funds provided by the Territorial Government.

Jo-Anne Johnson is rural programs co-ordinator. "In the last academic year, we offered 19 training sessions with over 300 participants and with every language in the Yukon being represented," she said. The current academic year has already seen two, one-week training sessions with 20 prospective teachers as well as numerous sessions for people learning or relearning the language, she added.

"Long before there were boundaries, people travelled through the Alaska and Yukon areas. Gwich'in, Tlingit, Han and Upper Tanana are spoken on both sides of the border. Some different dialects have developed, but the similarities are still there," she said. The centre works closely with the Alaska Native Language Centre on numerous joint projects. Other languages spoken in the area include Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Tagish and Kaska.

The YNLC has had a great effect on retaining the language and culture of the area. "The computer has helped because it can provide both the written and the oral. It's more cost-effective as we can quickly update materials and most folks have access to computers now," said Johnson.

As well, the centre has the assistance of Yukon residents who are still fluent speakers of their languages and who are contributing to dictionaries and other projects.

"Elders are a big part of our lessons. The model that's followed for the language programs is a team-teaching one, with an Elder paired with a younger person. In the Yukon most of the fluent speakers are in their 50s and 60s and many are learning Native languages as a second language," explained the former teacher from Watson Lake.

A three-year Native language teaching course at Yukon College was originally geared towards teachers in the schools, but the need for instructors to educate the general community soon became obvious. "We now have individuals teaching in every area in the community, from daycares to evening sessions for adults," said Johnson.

The centre has also worked on curriculum materials from kindergarten to Grade 12.

"This has also increased the work for our staff, but it's advantageous for the kids to have it. Up to grades four or five the learning is oral, but after that they begin developing written skills," Johnson explained.

Most alphabets are fairly new, having been developed within the last 25 years.

"I was privileged to help develop the Kaska alphabet and worked closely with linguists from Alaska, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia," she said.

Teachers do not simply lecture, but encourage participants to practise by providing many opportunities to speak. "The student teachers complete their three-year certificate and then, as their years of service accumulate, they become especially valuable. We are fully recognized as professionals by our peers in the Yukon Teacher's Association."

Johnson said that the Council of Yukon First Nations is highly involved and most appreciative of the centre's accomplishments.

"Grand Chief Ed Shultz gets out to as many events as he can, such as a recent visit from a group of Russian performers who were here in May to learn about language preservation, teaching methods, and materials."

Johnson and other staff travel frequently to Ross River, Haines Junction and Pelly Crossing.

"The schools are very actively promoting the use of their area languages at every opportunity, such as the Ross River school where Kaska names adorn the classrooms and principal's office," Johnson said. Listening exercises, language games, and lessons on places and names are other activities which students regularly enjoy.

Centre director John Ritter worked with Kska speakers to develop a Native language preamble to their constitution. "It will be written entirely in Kaska and will reflect their traditional beliefs and teachings. Fluent speakers, Elder Charlie Dick and George Smith from Ross River, worked closely with centre staff," she said.

As seven of the eight local languages, with only Tlingit excepted, are of the Athabascan language group, centre staff and instructors participated recently in a major Athabascan languages conference in Fairbanks, Alaska. "This conference brought together linguists, speakers, educators and policy-makers from across the region," she said.

The future looks good for the retention of the Territory's Native languages, she said.

"Other groups such as Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon and the Yukon Government's Aboriginal Language Services Branch are also raising the profile of our Native languages through radio and television programming and the provision of interpreter services in the communities." The centre notes a growing need for teachers as well as instructional programs and materials.

More information about the Yukon Native Language Centre can be obtained by calling 1-877-414-YNLC or by visiting www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc.