ACTIVITIES REPORT — J ANUARY 2004 COVERING THE PERIOD JULY – DECEMBER 2003

In 2003 the Yukon Native Language Centre con- tinued to expand its programming reach. YNLC staff responded to a growing number of requests for train- ing and other assistance both within and outside the Yukon as the Centre becomes increasingly recognized as a model for native language teaching and learning. The Centre also continued to work towards its goal of increased vis- ibility and accessibility by upgrading its website technology to enable users anywhere in the world to download Yukon language materials for their own use. A highlight of the second half of 2003 was the approval of funding by the Gov- ernment of Yukon for several new trainee positions in the schools. This is a major achievement for which Centre staff and Yukon native language teachers have worked very hard. Another highlight was the start-up of a native language and culture pro- gram at Selkirk Elementary School in Whitehorse for grades 4 to 7, taught by Dor- othy Bellerose. In August the Centre was once again a co-sponsor of a Gwich’in Language and Liturgy session held in Fairbanks, . The Centre is also very proud of the invitation extended to Southern specialist Margaret Workman by Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan. Margaret was invited to attend a conference on Athabaskan language revital-

Participants in the October 2003 Certificate training session.

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 1 ization because of the importance of her contribution to this field. Such international recognition brings honour not only to Margaret but to all Yukon First Nations people working for the preservation of their languages. New Trainee Positions The Department of Education is currently advertising for candidates who can be paired with experienced teachers in existing programs. The Department hopes to have the new trainees hired in time for the Certificate training sessions to be held at YNLC in March. Such positions are essential for the growth of native language programs in the schools and for the preservation of native languages. Selkirk Elementary School Language Program The first new native language program in a Yukon school in four years began this fall at Selkirk Elementary School. Dorothy Bellerose, an experienced native language instructor, is teaching 56 students in grades 4 to 7. Margaret Work- man, founding instructor of Southern Tutchone language programs in the schools, has been providing support to Dorothy as she makes the tran- sition from teaching at the high school level. Linda Harvey, native language instructor at Hidden Valley Elementary, has also been providing assistance with keyboarding and the development of curriculum materi- als. Gwich’in Language and Liturgy Session A Tukudh (Gwich’in) Language and Liturgy session was held from August 4 to 15 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. YNLC co-spon- sored this session along with the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska and the Gwich’in Language Centre (NWT). A total of 38 participants studied and discussed the traditional Gwich’in liturgy, hymns and prayers, which are written in an earlier version of the language known as Tukudh. As with sessions held in previous Nevada Njootli leads recessional at August’s Tukudh summers, the workshop culminated Eucharist Service held at St. Matthew’s Episcopal in a Holy Communion service at St. Church, Fairbanks, Alaska.

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 2 Matthew’s Episcopal Church conducted entirely in the Gwich’in language, with over a hundred Gwich’in speakers and others in attendance. The Rev. Mardow Solomon of Ft. Yukon, Alaska, officiated along with the Rev. Deacon Percy Henry of Dawson City, the Rev. Deacon Bella Jean Savino of Fairbanks, and lay reader Joanne Snowshoe of Ft. McPherson, NWT. The service included Gwich’in choir members and prayer leaders. A booklet dedi- cated to the memory of two previous participants from Alaska, Mrs. Louise Paul of Eagle and Rev. Isaac Tritt, Sr., of Arctic Village, was published to commemorate the session. Darlene Northway, Upper Tanana speaker from Alaska consults with Randall Native Language Kendi, guest Certificate session instructor, October 2003. Teacher Training To accommodate demand, two Certificate training sessions were held this fall at the Centre. These sessions are part of the course requirements for the three-year Certificate program accredited by Yukon College. The first was held September 15 to 19, attended by a total of 16 participants speaking five languages from the Yukon and NWT. Randall Kendi from Old Crow assisted as visiting instructor, and NWT visitors included Eleanor Firth and Betty Vittrekwa from Ft. McPherson. The second session was held September 29 to October 3, with 20 people speaking eight languages from the Yukon, NWT, and Alaska. In addition to Gwich’in, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, and Hän, other languages included Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun from NWT and Lower Tanana and Upper Tanana from Alaska. This was an unusually young group, with many participants in their twenties and thirties, including both community language instructors and classroom teachers. NWT visi- tors included Emily Kudlak and Marie Jacobson, who both work for the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre. Two Alaskan participants at the second session, Darlene Northway and Jenny Sanford, sang two personal songs in Upper Tanana during the Sharing session. Such songs, both happy and sad, are part of an enduring Athabaskan cultural tradition, and are evidence that the tradition and the language continue to be renewed. There was an emphasis on team teaching in both sessions and how it can be done efficiently in the classroom. The pairing of elders with younger teachers is becoming an increasingly important method as the elders themselves grow older.

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 3 Literacy Training Sessions A Hän literacy training session attended by 15 people was held December 2 to 4. The session covered basic vocabulary, including words for stone tools and the types of rocks people used traditionally. Participants wrote a story booklet featuring a phone conversation and transcribed basic conversations in Hän for the use of First Nation office employees responding to phone calls. Participants also practised Christmas carols which were broadcast on both CHON FM and CBC, and performed for Yukon College’s Christmas concert. From November 24 to 28, the Centre held a Gwich’in language planning session with William G. Firth, Manager of Language Programs for the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute in the Northwest Territories. Firth served as an instructor at the Tukudh session held in August, and has been active in planning future activities involving the traditional writing system. YNLC and GSCI have decided to produce a CD of the Tukudh study materials, and will utilize the talents of speakers in Ft. McPherson and at YNLC. During his visit to YNLC, Firth lobbied actively for the restoration of the People Speak Gwich’in program on CBC radio. To the delight of Gwich’in speakers in the Yukon and NWT, the program started again in early Janu- ary, 2004, after nearly a year’s absence.

Hands-on learning: the binoculars language teaching activity at the September 2003 Certificate session.

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 4 Language Team at YNLC: Ms. Evelyn Beeter, Ms. Katie John, Ms. Lena Charley, and Ms. Cynthea Ainsworth. School Visits Rural Programs Coordinator Jo-Anne Johnson visited Johnson Elementary School in Watson Lake from October 14 to 17. She demonstrated language teaching methods in the classroom for grade K to 7 instructors Phoebe Lewis, Aggie Magun, and Linda McDonald. From October 27 to 29 Jo-Anne visited Pelly Crossing and Carmacks. In Pelly she provided more information on the Diploma program to language instructors Alyce Joe and Shirley Joe at Eliza van Bibber School, and met with principal Chris Kingsbury. In Carmacks she visited Grace Wheeler and Amy Billy, who team-teach K-12 at Tan- talus School. With its well-set-up classroom, thorough lesson planning, and good rap- port with students, this program could become a model for other instructors. On November 20, Jo-Anne spent a day at the Carcross School observing native language teachers Fanny Smith and Marlene Smith, who team-teach Tlingit in grades K- 9. Fanny is working towards her Certificate. Jo-Anne also met with the principal Bryan Shanahan. The main focus this fall for Urban Programs Coordinator Margaret Workman has been supporting the new language program at Selkirk Elementary School. The program also includes cultural activities, with students making such items as beaded

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 5 necklaces and key chains. Margaret has visited several times to make sure that instructor Dorothy Bellerose’s transition from high school to elementary level teach- ing is smooth. In addition to adjusting to a new school program, Dorothy is also work- ing towards her Diploma. In October Margaret assisted Bertha Moose, native language instructor at Takh- ini Elementary School, to obtain funding for more materials for traditional cultural activities such as sewing. In December she paid a visit to Linda Harvey’s classroom at Hidden Valley Elementary School, where Linda teaches grades 1-7. Margaret observed Linda’s classroom teaching and reviewed lesson planning and long-range planning. Linda is in the second year of her Diploma program. Linda Harvey also provided support to language instructor Kathy Birckel in the K-7 program at Elijah Smith Elementary while Vera Brown was on medical leave this fall. This situation has demonstrated once again the urgent need for more trainee positions. Presentations On September 22, Margaret Workman made a presentation to Dr. Lynn Echevar- ria’s Women’s Studies class at Yukon College. She told a legend about her grandfa- ther, led a discussion on translating stories, and answered questions about how to approach elders for recording purposes and how to make such interviews comfort- able. On October 22, Jo-Anne, Margaret, Linda, and staff linguist André Bourcier made a presentation on the work of the Centre to Dr. Sheila Rose’s YNTEP class on Challenges for Educa- tion. Margaret and Linda also team-taught a 20-min- ute Southern Tutchone dem- onstration lesson. YNLC staff made a pre- sentation on aboriginal lan- guages to approximately 20 French language monitors at the Department of Edu- cation on October 31. Moni- tors are placed in schools on a year-long basis as fluent speakers of French under a federal government pro- gram. Jo-Anne, Linda, and Sharing across the border: Stephen Reid of Whitehorse and David André spoke on the geo- Engles of Minto, Alaska, with a classroom language game created by graphical situation of Yukon Reid and demonstrated at the October YNLC session.

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 6 native languages and discussed the training and teaching of second languages. Linda also taught a demonstration lesson in Southern Tutchone. From November 7 to 10, YNLC staff participated in the 8th Circumpolar Uni- versities Co-operation Conference, held this year at Yukon College. YNLC Director John Ritter presented a paper entitled “Connecting Athabaskan and Tlingit Lan- guage Communities: A Joint Program at Yukon College and the University of Alaska Fairbanks,” while Margaret Workman and staff linguist Doug Hitch gave a presenta- tion about the influence of technology in the production of multimedia materials and how teachers use these materials in the classroom. International Recognition for Margaret Workman’s Contribution This fall the Institute for Foreign Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies extended a special invitation to Southern Tutchone language specialist Margaret Workman to attend a conference on Athabaskan language revitalization in Febru- ary. This invitation is a special honour for Margaret herself in recognition of her long career in revitalizing , especially Southern Tutchone. Alaskan Literary Project in the Upper Ahtna Language From Oct. 6 to 10, elders Katie John and Lena Charley visited the Centre from Mentasta, Alaska, for recording sessions in the Upper Ahtna language. They were accompanied by Ms. Evelyn Beeter and Dr. Cynthea Ainsworth. The recording ses- sions are part of a new two-year project to add listening exercises and computer story books to the literacy materials available. Dr. Ainsworth reports that the project is breaking new ground for the Upper Ahtna language by producing written materials to help would-be learners, noting that such work would not be possible without the support of the Centre and the teaching material formats it has developed. Requests for YNLC Assistance Requests for assistance in the areas of genealogical research, translation, and the recording of traditional stories and place names are increasing at the Centre. From September to December the Centre documented 33 requests from individuals, orga- nizations and communities in the Yukon, NWT, Alaska and elsewhere for such assis- tance. Responding to such requests is an important part of YNLC’s role in addition to its mandate of providing native language and literacy training and teaching materi- als. On-line Language Lessons and Website Improvements Work has begun on a third set of on-line language lessons, the Big Salmon dialect of Northern Tutchone, spoken by Gertie Tom. Using the same technology featured in the on-line language lessons, the Centre has also produced prototypes of on-line listening exercises and on-line story books, both with complete audio. Eventually these will be available on the Internet so that anyone may see and hear the listening exercises and story books. Linguist Doug Hitch has been working on the latest technology used by comput- ers to type special letters and accent marks such as those used in Yukon native

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 7 languages. Eventually it will be possible for people anywhere in the world to use this technology, to easily create and exchange documents in Yukon native languages. Doug has posted a test page that shows the progress in developing this special soft- ware. The test page is at http://dl2.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc/eightlanguages.html. New Materials A major new publication this fall has been the Gwich’in Listening Exercises Book in two volumes. This is a teaching tool containing over 100 listening exercises using the different sounds confronting any student of the Gwich’in language. The book is divided into sections containing specific exercises on consonants and vowels, as well as information on the tone patterns of Gwich’in, and contains a set of pictures as a teaching aid. Long in the making, the book is the result of years of hard work by YNLC director John Ritter and Gwich’in Language Specialist Mary Jane Kunnizzi, assisted more recently by YNLC linguist André Bourcier and Gwich’in elder Mary Decker. Two printed booklets containing material from the fall literacy sessions are avail- able. The booklet from the Hän literacy session contains conversation and vocabulary, two listening exercises, songs and carols, a story booklet about a telephone call, and photos of the session. The booklet from the Gwich’in Language and Liturgy session includes numerous photographs of the Holy Communion service celebrated entirely in Gwich’in at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on August 14, 2003, as well as photo- graphs of the memorial service for Chief Peter John. All these materials can be ordered from YNLC (see contact information below). Planning for Spring 2004 Planning is now underway for a number of spring literacy sessions, with YNLC staff planning to travel to selected communities for some of these sessions. A Certificate Training Session for Native Language Instructors has been sched- uled for March 15 to 19. How To Reach Us If you would like more information on the Centre’s programs or publications, please write us at Yukon Native Language Centre, Yukon College, Box 2799, White- horse, Yukon, Y1A 5K4. We can also be reached: • by telephone at (867) 668-8820, toll-free 1-877-414-9652 • by fax at (867) 668-8825 • by email at [email protected] • on the web at www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 8 7 4 9 9 7 6 6 4 10 16 13 24 22 56 38 21 23 25 14 18 332 Participants

3 4 3 2 5 2 3 3 3 1 2 1 5 5 1 1 5 3 2 Days 10 64

Dates February 12-14 February 24-27 February March 5-7 March 10-11 March 17-21 March 12-13 April 15-17 13-15 May 21-23 May June 5 June 16-17 4-15 August 28 August September 15-19 Sept 29–Oct 3 October 22 October 31 24 - 28 November December 2 - 4 December 9 - 10

Sessions Session Type Literacy at UAF Selkirk FN Training Literacy Literacy Certicate White River FN Training Literacy Literacy Selkirk FN Training Language Overview Literacy Traditional Literacy Centre Overview Certicate Certicate Native Languages Overview Native Languages Overview Planning Session Literacy Session Place Names 20

2003 Training Sessions

Language Group Tanacross—Hän Northern Tutchone Tlingit Hän Combined Northern Tutchone Southern Tutchone Kaska Northern Tutchone Upper Tanana Hän Gwich'in (Tukudh) YC Campus Instructors Combined Combined YNTEP French Monitors Gwich'in Hän Southern Tutchone

YNLC Activities Report, July-December 2003 9