Highlights YNLC Moved Into Summer Activities Following Yukon College Graduation and the Close of School Language Programs in June
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YNLC ACTIVITIES REPO R T COVE R I N G THE PE R IOD JU ly – DE C EMBE R 2009 Highlights YNLC moved into summer activities following Yukon College graduation and the close of school language programs in June. In July, staff linguist Doug Hitch presented recent YNLC research on the Kohklux maps at the International Conference on the History of Cartography in Copenhagen, Denmark. In July and August, YNLC Director John Ritter attended meetings at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. YNLC's Linda Harvey and Mary Jane Allison attended the six-week summer session at UAF, continuing coursework toward academic degrees offered collaboratively with Yukon College and YNLC. Two Alaskan visitors from the Upper Kuskokwim region came to YNLC in August for technical training for web-based language projects. With the start of school programs in the fall, the Centre also resumed its training schedule which continued to the Christmas break. Eleven instructors from three Yukon language groups participated in the September Native Language Certificate/Diploma training session spearheaded by YNLC coordinators Linda Harvey and Jo-Anne Johnson. In late November, YNLC held one of its largest-ever Tukudh (Gwich’in) literacy sessions, with thirty-one participants from Yukon, NWT, and Alaska. Successful Tlingit and Hän literacy sessions were also held this fall. Cooperative work with the Yukon Geographical Place Names Board continued in the fall and included a place-name survey of the Kusawa Lake and Mendenhall River area. Looking north at Na/khu\ç, traditional rafting-across point on Kusawa Lake. The Southern Tutchone name for the lake, Na/khu\ç MaÜn, comes from this feature. YNLC Activities Report, July - December, 2009 1 Anthropologist Julie Cruikshank, under YNLC sponsorship, produced the manuscript text on the travels of Edward Glave in the southwest Yukon. YNLC Elder Margaret Workman returned to YNLC to assist in transcribing and translating her Southern Tutchone story about the importance of sharing food in traditional aboriginal society. As a Council of Yukon First Nations program, YNLC participated in discussions on native language revitalization in connection with the Northern Strategy Trust for enhancing the quality of life for northern peoples. Tlingit Elder Emma Sam Honoured With National Award In September, respected Teslin Tlingit elder and fluent speaker Emma Sam received a national literacy award for her work in keeping the Tlingit language alive. The Emma Sam holds her Literacy Award Council of the Federation Literacy Award was presented in a ceremony at the Yukon Legislature by Education Minister Patrick Rouble. The award was created in 2004 to recognize the importance of literacy as an essential building block for a vibrant society and economy. Emma was born to David and Rosie Johnston of the Teslin Tlingit First Nation and is of the Ishkìtàn clan. Her Tlingit name is Wakhsâni. She grew up speaking her language and worked for years as an interpreter for the Yukon government before moving on to become a teacher of Tlingit. She has participated in many Tlingit literacy sessions at YNLC, and has also contributed to the creation of YNLC's Interior Tlingit Noun Dictionary (2001). In 2000 Emma published Yú.á “They Say”, a Tlingit language booklet and tape, and with YNLC assistance released an accompanying CD. She now teaches adult language classes at CYFN in Whitehorse and continues to pass her cultural traditions on to her children and grandchildren. Linda Harvey and Mary-Jane Allison YNLC Activities Report, July - December, 2009 2 New Native Lan- guage Instructor at Kluane Lake School Lillian Underwood has been hired as native language instructor at Kluane Lake School in Destruction Bay. Rural Programs Coordinator Kaska Instructor Nancy Sterriah leads a language game Jo-Anne Johnson visited the school to review lesson plans, curriculum guide, and materials with her. Teacher Training Certificate and Diploma Training Session In September, eleven Yukon language instructors attended the week-long training session for students enrolled in both the Certificate and Diploma programs. YNLC staff presented material on language structure, including listening exercises and sentence structure, and on teaching techniques, including methods for teaching about people, animals, and household objects. Participants led demonstration lessons, shared teaching ideas and methods, and developed materials for use in their community language programs. Founding elders CYFN’s Gwich’in Instructor Gertie Tom and Margaret Workman also participated Linda Netro-Hendrie and Linda Harvey in the session. CYFN Language Instructor Session This fall Linda Harvey, Jo-Anne Johnson, and Anne Ranigler organized a one-day session for CYFN language instructors. CYFN continues to offer free language lessons for the public at its Whitehorse office. Most of the CYFN instructors have participated in training at YNLC and utilize YNLC materials in their classes. Literacy and In-service Sessions Tlingit Literacy Session In September, YNLC sponsored a visit to YNLC’s Gertie Tom and Jo-Anne Johnson YNLC Activities Report, July - December, 2009 3 Whitehorse by Dr. Jeff Leer of the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Twelve participants attended a Tlingit literacy and grammar workshop led by Dr. Leer, including native language instructors from Teslin and Carcross. Participants reviewed Tlingit consonant sounds, studied two classes of verbs, and practised listening exercises in both the Teslin and Carcross dialects. These exercises were created by fluent speaker and experienced Teslin instructor Bessie Cooley as part of her Diploma program requirements. Fluent speaker and September Tlingit Literacy Session Participants with Carcross instructor Mamie Smith Dr. Jeff Leer in the back row, centre. assisted with the Carcross dialect version. Teetl'it Gwich’in Grammar Session In October, YNLC’s John Ritter and André Bourcier held a consultation session on Gwich’in grammar at the request of William Firth, Language Program Manager of the Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute in Fort McPherson NWT. The session focused on Gwich'in verb analysis. Tukudh (Gwich’in) Literacy Session In late November, John Ritter and André Bourcier led a well-attended Tukudh (Gwich'in) Literacy Session participants Garry Njootli, session on Tukudh, the older form of Elder Percy Henry from Dawson City, and UAF Gwich’in the Gwich’in language developed by Instructor Allan Hayton Archdeacon Robert McDonald together with Gwich’in speakers in the nineteenth century. Thirty-one participants from Yukon, NWT, and Alaska studied and retranscribed traditional Advent hymns and Anglican liturgy from Tukudh into modern Gwich’in. They practised and recorded a number of hymns and also discussed the origins of Gwich’in surnames, all under the guidance of elders and YNLC staff. Participants included retired native language instructor Helen Charlie from Old Crow, UAF Gwich'in instructor Allan Hayton from Fairbanks, and Hän elders Percy and Mabel Henry from Dawson. Many Teetl'it Gwich'in also attended, including sisters Joanne Snowshoe and Ruth Carroll, who provided valuable knowledge YNLC Activities Report, July - December, 2009 4 and assistance throughout. Darius Elias, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vuntut Gwitchin, visited to make a brief presentation. Hän Literacy Session In early December, YNLC staff organized and led a workshop on Hän literacy. Twelve participants translated O Canada into Hän, reviewed the Hän Hän Literacy Session Participants alphabet, practised listening exercises for consonants, and reviewed terms for family relations (which vary depending on the gender of the speaker/referent) under the guidance of elders and staff. Participants included Percy and Mabel Henry along with their daughter Mary Henry, Hän language instructor at Robert Service School in Dawson, and co-instructor Melissa Hawkins with her young son Jack. The Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in FN was represented by Angie Joseph-Rear (Language Coordinator), Georgette McLeod (Heritage), and Erika Joseph-Scheffen. YNLC Presentations Kohklux in Copenhagen In July, staff linguist Doug Hitch attended the International Conference on the History of Cartography in Copenhagen, Denmark, to present the findings of YNLC staff in interpreting the Kohklux map. This historically and culturally important map of southwest Yukon was drawn by a Tlingit chieftain in 1869. Linda Johnson, former Yukon Archivist, and John Cloud, from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were also members of the Kohklux panel. Doug's talk, Deciphering the Geography and Language of Kohklux, showed the progress made by YNLC in finding the native Tlingit and Athapaskan place names hidden behind the map spellings. He also used sound files spoken by Yukon First Nations elders to illustrate points. YNLC linguist Doug Hitch with the Kohklux map YNLC Activities Report, July - December, 2009 5 Yukon College Women’s Studies Course In October, Linda Harvey, Jo-Anne Johnson, and Anne Ranigler organized and presented a class session on YNLC activities, programs, and materials to Lynn Echevarria’s Women’s Studies course at Yukon College. F.H. Collins Grade 12 Communication Studies In November, André Georgette McLeod reviews the Hän version of O Canada Bourcier was invited to make a presentation to the Grade 12 Communications Studies class at F.H. Collins about language preservation and revitalization. The class included students of several language backgrounds. They read