Chief Sunrise Education Centre has been back in action over the last couple of weeks since the Covid break and February appears to be a perfect time to revive learning for Indigenous Languages.
Principal Deborah Reid said that while this month is being officially celebrated and recognized to promote the use of Dene Yati, it is also helpful that the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment is tying the theme of the month to Let’s Go Fishing.
The department stated in a news release on Feb. 1 that in partnership with the NWT Literacy Council, students are being encouraged to use reading resources with Indigenous languages including fish-related cookbooks.
Reid said that her school regularly has students helping at home prepare meals and the use of fish recipes at reserve homes was an added way to practicing the language.
“We’ve been handing out fish to each family as they come available because it is hard for harvesters to catch enough, like 30 at once,” she explained. “Whenever fishers go out for the day to clean up their nets … I’ve also been purchasing fish from a commercial fisher person and then the fish are delivered to families of kids at the school.”
Reid said the aim is that by the end of the month, every family will get a fish and teach their children the way that they like the fish prepared.
Throughout the month students will learn in school different words around the theme of fish from describing the taste of fish to experiencing the act of fishing.
Reid explained that promoting and encouraging the use of the traditional language is an important part of the school throughout the year but having themes to reference helps students put words and phrases into context.
“It’s nice to kind of have a hook to put this celebration of language onto and we’ve been trying to rejuvenate and enhance the language learning as much as possible in the school, especially our school,” she said.
“We want the language to be alive, not a language where it is always talking about the past.
“We want the language to be a living language where kids can walk down the street and talk to each other or to their parents or people that they know and say ‘Good morning’ or ‘How are you?’ and feel confident in the responses and how they pronounce things.”
The school is also promoting the Dene law of “Love One Another As Much As Possible.” which is also providing other opportunities to use the language.
Every month the school focuses on a different Dene law and promotes the language around those themes.
Students have been creating Valentine’s Day cards to send to elders and people at Woodland Manor.
Reid said she has also kept up her Christmas tree in the school and rebranded it as an “Everyday Tree.” It not only allows the school to have another part of nature inside, but it also serves students the ability to put up positive affirmations that help keep morale up.
“When February rolled around we had kids make decorations and put them up for using Dene Yati language for ‘love’ and ‘kindness’ and ‘sharing’ and ‘helpful.”
