ACTIVITIES REPORT — DECEMBER 2004 COVERING THE PERIOD JULY – DECEMBER 2004

The major influx of new people involved in native languages in the is a significant highlight of fall 2004. The hiring of new trainees in the native language school programs, as well as the increasing involvement of young people and students in literacy sessions, provides new energy for the preservation and revitalization of native languages in the Yukon. Although a number of talented and experienced instructors have retired, the new instructors and trainees who began work this fall will help to ensure that the languages are passed on to the next generation. With the addition of Gwich’in language classes at F.H. Collins, and an adult course in Gwich’in at Yukon College, language programs are also expanding. Other Yukon languages besides are now being offered in through schools, the college, and community programs. In Whitehorse this autumn, the Kwanlin Dun First Nation continued to offer language classes in , North-

Hon. John Edzerza, Minister of Education, and Gerald Brown, Vice-Chief, Champagne/ First Nation, join teachers and trainees at the September 2004 Certificate Training Session

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 1 ern Tutchone, and Southern Tutchone. These new initiatives expand the possibilities for language learning in the territory. YNLC’s activities for all of 2004 are summarized in the table accompanying this report. The Centre offered a record number of training and literacy sessions, and record numbers of participants were involved in Centre activities. YNLC is finding its staff and resources increasingly stretched in order to support requests for assistance from schools and community-based language programs. With the rapid evolution of technology, one of the Centre’s long-term goals is to expand the amount and quality of language teaching and learning resources available through its website so that they can be accessed by anyone with a computer.

New Staff at YNLC Linda Harvey was hired in September as the new Urban Programs Coordinator at YNLC, replacing Margaret Work- man who retired last June. Linda works with native language instructor trainees in the Whitehorse area and responds to other requests from Whitehorse schools regarding native languages. In addition, Linda teaches Southern Tutchone in community language classes at Kwanlin Dun First Nation. Also hired this fall was Anne Ranigler as staff archi- vist and language specialist, replacing Mary Jane Kunnizzi who was a Gwich’in language specialist. Linda Harvey As archivist Anne is responsible for all the audio and video mate- rial at YNLC and makes duplicates for the Yukon Archives. As the Northern specialist, she carries out transla- tion and transcription in Northern Tutchone. Sheila Maissan and Anne Ranigler working Anne previously worked for many years for on YNLC computer formats Aboriginal Language Services in Carmacks. She teaches Northern Tutchone in commu- nity language classes at Kwanlin Dun First Nation.

New Trainees Ragene Blackjack was hired in September as a native language trainee instructor in Carmacks. She is assisting Grace Wheeler and Amy Billy at Tantalus School. In Teslin Bessie Cooley was hired as a trainee instructor to team-teach with Margaret Bob at Teslin School. Bessie, like Margaret, is a fluent speaker of Tlingit and they are able to conduct lessons almost exclusively in the language. Bessie brings extensive training in Tlingit, having completed both the A.A.S. and B.A. degrees at the Univer- sity of Alaska Fairbanks.

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 2 New trainees in Whitehorse are Amanda Workman at Takhini Elementary, men- tored by instructor Bertha Moose, and Mary Jane Allison and Ruth Carroll at F.H. Collins Secondary, mentored by Lorraine Allen. Stephen Reid has been hired as a full-time instructor at Elijah Smith Elemen- tary, working with long-serving native language instructor Vera Brown. Stephen has a B.Ed. from the YNTEP program at Yukon College and has attended training and literacy sessions at YNLC.

Gwich’in Pilot Program Ruth Carroll is the instructor of the Gwich’in language pilot program at F.H. Col- lins Secondary, which started this fall as a result of requests from the School Council in Old Crow. She currently has one class including Grades 9 to 12. Ruth and her mentor, Lorraine Allen, are collecting resource materials and adapting the Southern Tutchone curriculum to her students’ needs.

Southern Tutchone Language Program at Kluane Lake School Alyce Johnson was hired to teach Southern Tutchone at Kluane Lake School this fall, serving both Destruction Bay and Burwash. This restarts a language program that had been inactive since 1999. Alyce is a former principal at Lower Post School in B.C.

Gwich’in Language Course at Yukon College A new language course in Gwich’in, a first-year conversation course for adults, was offered at Yukon College this fall, taught by Linda Netro. YNLC provided support to the instructor and assisted in assembling materials.

Native Language Teacher Training Two Certificate training sessions were held this fall. From September 13 to 17 YNLC hosted 15 participants representing six Yukon and Alaskan languages - Gwich’in, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Kaska, Tlingit, and Ahtna. From September 29 to October 1 there were 16 community language instructors from the Yukon and represent- ing seven languages - Gwich’in, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Hän, Kaska, , and Tlingit. The focus of the sessions was on methodology, language structure and professionalism for both trainees and expe- rienced instructors, including orientation to the school system for trainees. Teaching tech- niques were demonstrated, using the themes of animals, berries, and weather. Participants discussed team teaching and the expectations Georgette McLeod and Linda Netro-Hendrie of both trainees and mentors, and each par- at the September-October Certificate ticipant completed a demonstration lesson for training session peer review.

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 3 A reception was held during the first session to celebrate the CYFN’s and the Department of Education’s commitment to school native language programs through the creation of new trainee positions. It was attended by the Minister of Education, Hon. John Edzerza, and the Deputy Chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation, Gerald Brown, who spoke on behalf of the CYFN Grand Chief Ed Schultz. The Grand Chief advocated strongly for the creation of the language traineeships. Attendance at the training sessions is part of the course requirements for the three-year Certificate program accredited by Yukon College. Participants must also complete three years of classroom experience in order to receive their certificate. Graduates of the Certificate program may go on to take a two-year Diploma program, during which they develop their linguistic and teaching skills, develop original teach- ing materials, and document oral history and traditional narratives.

Literacy Sessions From October 13 to 15 a Tlingit literacy session was held with 12 participants from and Teslin. At the request of the Yukon Geographical Place Names Board, the group reviewed a number of place names written in the Coastal Tlingit spelling system and reproduced them using the Interior Tlingit spelling system. The Board, which is the organization that approves new or alter- nate place names for Yukon geographical features, will review these place names at its next meeting. Yukon Toponymist Garry Njootli was in attendance at the workshop. Participants also reviewed words and sentences using directional words, possessives, and spe- cific topics in verb formation and analysis. Six people from the Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation in Mayo partici- pated in a literacy session on October 4 and 5. Par- Fanny Smith, Marlene Smith and Lucy Wren at the Tlingit literacy session, October, 2004 ticipants worked with John Ritter and André Bourcier to determine additions and revisions to existing language lessons in the Nacho Nyak Dun dialect of Northern Tutchone. Elder Alice Buyck pro- vided new lessons and recorded them in the sound studio with Doug Hitch. This workshop is part of a larger initiative by YNLC to revamp all the language lessons for all Yukon native languages and dialects. With the improved sound quality available with today’s technology, YNLC plans to revise and re-record most of its lan- guage lessons as part of future literacy sessions. Recording is already underway with

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 4 elder Percy Henry, a fluent Hän speaker, elder Gertie Tom in Northern Tutchone, and former YNLC staff members Mary Jane Kunnizzi and Margaret Workman in, respec- tively, Gwich’in and Southern Tutchone. The ultimate goal is to have all of these lan- guage lessons available on the YNLC website. From November 24 to 26 a Gwich’in literacy session was held with 24 participants from Ft. McPherson, Aklavik, Old Crow and Whitehorse. William George Firth of Ft. McPherson led the session as part of the requirements for the completion of his A.A.S. degree through Uni- versity of Alaska Fairbanks. Participants practised two seasonal Tukudh hymns as well as listening exercises. The group also retranscribed the Christmas story (St. Luke 2:1-20) from the tradi- tional Tukudh into modern Gwich’in. Elder Hannah Netro from Old Crow shared a number of stories. One of William George Firth leading the Gwich’in literacy session, these was about the origin of November, 2004 the family name Kaye from Gwich’in K’i’k’avihchik. As part of the session, native language instructor Ruth Carroll taught a demon- stration lesson with the students from her Gwich’in language class at F.H. Collins Secondary. The students also participated in a number of language games with the elders in attendance at the workshop. From December 7 to 9 a Hän literacy session was held. This session has become something of a pre-Christmas tradition at the Language Centre. Fifteen participants from Dawson City worked on listening exercises, word lists, and the translation of Tukudh Christmas carols into Hän, including Angels from the Realms of Glory. They also brought a Phone Call story they had written about two of the participants, Julia Morberg and Mary Henry, concerning Julia’s trapline. The story was reviewed and proofed in the workshop with the assistance of YNLC staff. Participants also reviewed the new enhanced Hän language lessons that will soon be posted on YNLC’s web- site.

School Visits Rural Programs Coordinator Jo-Anne Johnson travelled to Carmacks on October 21, where she visited the community language program for both adults and pre-school- ers at Little Salmon First Nation. The following day Jo-Anne observed instructor Grace Wheeler and new trainee Ragene Blackjack at Tantalus School, and reviewed

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 5 the curriculum guide and teaching materials with Ragene. On October 25 Jo-Anne visited Nelnah Bessie John School in Beaver Creek, trav- elling with the Director of Learning from the Department of Education, Dave Sloan. She worked with Rose-Marie Blair who teaches Northern Tutchone, but she will also be including Upper Tanana in the classroom as much as possible. Rose- Marie is a recent YNTEP graduate and has attended training sessions at YNLC. On October 26 Jo-Anne visited the Burwash/Destruction Bay area with Dave Sloan. They attended a meeting with new native language instructor Alyce Johnson and Will Jones from the . She also set up a display of YNLC materials for the community. On November 23 Jo-Anne vis- ited Teslin School and observed new trainee Bessie Cooley team-teach- ing Kindergarten to Grade 7 with her mentor Margaret Bob. All the students in the school are attending lessons. Urban Programs Coordina- tor Linda Harvey visited F.H. Col- lins on September 23 and observed Rural Coordinator Jo-Anne Johnson and linguist André instructor Ruth Carroll teaching Bourcier at Yukon College Graduation, June 2004 her Gwich’in language class. In the afternoon she observed Mary Jane Allison, the new trainee in the Southern Tutchone language program. Both Ruth and Mary Jane are being mentored by Lorraine Allen. Linda also reviewed with them the kind of support that YNLC can offer to instructors. On September 27 Linda visited Takhini Elementary and observed new trainee Amanda Workman leading classes alone and team-teaching with Bertha Moose. On September 28 Linda observed instructor Dorothy Bellerose in the classroom at Selkirk Elementary where she teaches K-7. Linda also met with the principal to discuss ways in which YNLC could provide assistance to the language program, such as in the area of traditional culture. In the afternoon Linda visited Elijah Smith Elementary and observed new instructor Stephen Reid. Stephen teaches Southern Tutchone to Grades 1-7.

Task Force on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures André Bourcier, Linda Harvey, Margaret Workman and Jo-Anne Johnson attended consultation sessions of the federal Task Force on Aboriginal Languages and Cul-

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 6 tures, held at the CYFN offices on June 24 and 25. The Task Force has held eight focus groups across . Linda, Jo-Anne, and Margaret made a presentation on behalf of YNLC.

White River First Nation Multimedia Project In July the requested the assistance of YNLC with a multimedia project demonstrating traditional activities - sewing, drum-making, and making bannock. Agnes Winzer, retired native language instructor at Beaver Creek School, wrote captions for the photographs in Northern Tutchone. She and her daugh- ter Irene Winzer then reviewed the photos and captions with the assistance of John Ritter and André Bourcier at YNLC. The captions were later recorded as soundtracks, and a CD was created for use in the school and community.

YNLC Open House The Language Centre hosted an Open House on November 25 for staff, stu- dents and visitors at Yukon College. Refreshments were provided and YNLC materi- als were displayed.

Visits by Community Schools On October 28 a group of Grade 9 to 11 students from Tantalus School in Car- macks visited the Centre, accompanied by vice-prin- cipal Carrie-Lyn Robin- son and native language CYFN Grand Chief Ed Schultz, Yukon College Chancellor Sam Johnston and YNLC Director John Ritter instructor Grace Wheeler. Anne Ranigler led a 20- minute demonstration lesson in Northern Tutchone. André Bourcier recorded a few sentences in Northern Tutchone with the students to demonstrate the digital record- ing process. Plans are for this visit to become a yearly event. A large group of teachers and students from Watson Lake Secondary paid a visit to the Centre on November 5 while touring Yukon College.

Elementary Teachers’ Professional Day Jo-Anne Johnson and Linda Harvey attended sessions at the Elementary Teach- ers’ Professional Day on November 1 at Elijah Smith Elementary.

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 7 Naming Ceremony On November 19 Jo-Anne Johnson attended the naming ceremony of Michael Luxton, an elementary student at Nelnah Bessie John School in Beaver Creek, on behalf of YNLC. Michael was given an Upper Tanana name at a potlatch in the com- munity hall and was adopted by Marilyn Sanford of the Crow clan. The ceremony included drumming and singing by the elementary students with Rose-Marie Blair’s assistance.

Conference in Penticton on Native Language and Literature Jo-Anne Johnson and Linda Harvey were invited to the Original Languages and Literatures Conference held in Penticton from November 26 to 28. The conference was organized by the Canada Council for the Arts and the En’owkin Centre in Penticton. Keynote speakers were Basil Johnson (Ojibway), the author of a book on residential schools, and Maria Campbell (Métis), author of the memoir Half-Breed. Participants represented twelve languages from across Canada, including French, Innu, Mitchif, Cree, Ojibway, Blackfoot, Shushwap, Carrier, , and three Yukon languages: Southern Tutchone, Kaska, and Northern Tutchone. Louise Profeit-LeBlanc (North- ern Tutchone) attended on behalf of the Canada Council.

Presentations On November 8 Linda Harvey and Jo-Anne Johnson made a presentation about the structure of YNLC and its activities at the Constitutional Commissioners’ Forum held at CYFN. The forum was part of CYFN’s efforts to draft a new constitution rec- ognizing the addition of new . In their presentation Linda and Jo-Anne stressed that YNLC is an integral part of the Council of Yukon First Nations. On November 17 Jo-Anne and Linda attended Dr. Sheila Rose’s Education 221 class, The Northern Multicultural Classroom, at Yukon College. They reviewed YNLC materials with the students and explained how to contact native language instruc- tors in the schools. On December 2 Jo-Anne, Linda and Anne Ranigler attended a class in the Home Support Worker/Nursing Home Attendant Program at Yukon College. They discussed greetings in native languages, as well as how to make elders and nurses feel more comfortable with each other.

Supporting Community Language Program at Kwanlin Dun YNLC has provided practical support and encouragement to the Kwanlin Dun First Nation’s community language classes in Tlingit, Northern Tutchone, and South- ern Tutchone. Two of the instructors are YNLC staff, and the third is the author of a YNLC booklet and tape of Tlingit lessons. KDFN Chief Mike Smith requested that the Tlingit lessons be transferred to CD, and this was done in November. YNLC also arranged for Wayne Towriss to visit the classes at KDFN to take professional photo- graphs of the students and instructors.

Website Developments Work has continued with recording the new enhanced versions of the Hän lan-

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 8 guage lessons with elder Percy Henry and the language lessons with Lucy Wren. These lessons should be posted to YNLC’s website early in 2005. The conversion of the interactive story books to web-based technology is also underway, and a number of titles are ready to be posted to the site. YNLC is also discussing possible new formats for its website. This project is still in the early stages, but the ultimate goal is to maintain a website that is rich in con- tent as well as attractive and easy to use.

New Materials A new flashcard set, consisting of one large and four small flashcards of 209 images, has been sent to the native language program in each school for use in teach- ing vocabulary and in various games. Twenty copies of each of the print story books in the appropriate language and dialect were also sent. Reports on several new literacy sessions are now available, including the Hän literacy session of June 1- 3 held in Dawson City, the Tlingit literacy session of October 13-15, the Gwich’in literacy session of November 24-26, and the Hän literacy session of December 7-9. A new book of Hän language lessons has been produced from the recordings done by elder Percy Henry of Dawson City. All four of Lorraine Allen’s Mabel and Percy Henry at the Hän literacy session, Southern Tutchone print December, 2004 story books (Camping, At Home, Moose Hunt and Fish Camp) have been reprinted. Other reprints include the YNLC Publications Cata- logue, as well as the reports on the Upper Tanana literacy sessions of November 2001 and November 2002, and the Tanacross literacy session of February 2003. All these materials can be ordered from YNLC (see contact information below).

Planning for Spring 2005 The Yukon Native Language Centre and individual teachers are busy planning for the spring session, with a number of literacy and teacher training workshops scheduled or anticipated. Some will be held at YNLC, and others will be held in the communities. Please contact the Centre for information on workshop topics, dates, and locations.

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 9 How To Reach Us If you would like more information on the Centre’s programs or publications, please write to us at Yukon Native Language Centre, Yukon College, Box 2799, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 5K4. We can also be reached: • by telephone at (867) 668-8820, toll-free (877) 414-9652 • by fax at (867) 668-8825 • by email at [email protected] • on the web at www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc

Garry Njootli, Old Crow elder Hannah Netro and Nevada Njootli at the Gwich’in literacy session, November, 2004

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 10 s Page 1 5 2 1 25 1 20 3 18 Dates Days Participant April 21-23 3 May 8 May 19 < April 13 30 2 March 15-19 March 29 - April 2 5 5 23 27 Materials May 5-6 < March 24 3 35 & Presentations Focus Focus Teacher Training Teacher Training YNLC Update 2004 Training Sessions and Session Yukon Native Teacher Education Program Athabaskan Conference Clan System¶Family Tree (Tokyo, Japan) Certificate Course Language Revitalization January 12 Arctic Athabaskan Council Certificate Course International Initiatives at YNLC February 16-20 March 22 Southern Tutchone Literacy 1 5 Classroom and FN Literacy Chilkat Indian Village Language Workshop April 14-16 CYFN Leadership YNLC Presentation 30 Alaska Anthro. Assn. Northern Tutchone Literacy 3 Northern Tutchone Recording Classroom and FN Literacy Big Salmon Lessons YNLC Presentation Ha/n Literacy Session May 12-14 26 Classroom and FN Literacy 3 June 1-3 27

YNLC Activities Report, July - December 2004 11 s Page 2 5 5 9 1 15 2 66 499 Dates Days Participant June 7 October 4-5 2

June 24-25 Sept 13-17 2 Sept 29 - Oct 1 3 5 31 20 22 Presentations Focus Focus 24 Sessions YNLC Presentation Teacher Training Teacher Training YNLC Materials Display November 25 1 50 2004 Training Sessions and Session NWT Aboriginal Consultants YNLC Presentation Ha/n Recording Session Ahtna Athabascan Session Ha/n Language Lessons ALCC Task Force Lessons White River First Nation June 16-18 Certificate Course June 7-8 Northern Tutchone Literacy Certificate Course Na-Cho Nyak Dun FN July 19, 20, 22 3 Tlingit Literacy Session 3 Gwich&in Literacy Session Community Literacy YNLC Open House 10 Classroom and FN Literacy Classroom and FN Literacy Ha/n Literacy Session October 13-15 November 24-26 3 3 Classroom and FN Literacy December 7-9 33 15 3 16

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