Latest news with #SouthernTutchone
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A Whitehorse high school now has an Njel. That sets a precedent, vice principal says
There was a time when Njels were everywhere across the land. "These are the types of houses we would have lived in," said Harold Johnson, a Southern Tutchone knowledge keeper. "There was [sic] towns, villages, even cities." Now the traditional, full-sized dwelling stands tall once more, behind Porter Creek Secondary School in Whitehorse. It's at the centre of a camp called Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets'edän Kų̀, which means "the learning house at Wild Rhubarb Creek" — the original name of the area. It's here all students will experience first-hand the transfer of traditional knowledge. That includes stories from Elders and land-based learning like hide tanning. Hundreds attended a ceremony hosted by the school Wednesday, with speakers saying the Njel deepens and solidifies cultural connections — both at the school and the community at large. Funded by the Arctic Inspiration Prize and the Yukon government, Johnson and Meta Williams designed and built the Njel. Students helped. With the exception of a massive cedar log from Vancouver Island at the top, the house is built mostly of local spruce, the boughs of which cover the floor. "To learn like this in a traditional structure is so much more [beneficial]," Johnson said. "You're not explaining how a house looks, you're actually in it. Right off the bat, [the students] totally get it, you know? "There's no words that I can say. This house speaks for itself, basically. You just gotta see it." 'If you live here, you need to learn about living here' Vice-principal Nicole Cross said the urban traditional camp sets a high bar, and at a school where at least 40 per cent of youth are First Nations. "I think what this means for the school is the ability to be able to truly incorporate cultural learning on a scale that isn't precedented really," she said. "We want to make sure we're honouring that knowledge and that culture." The Njel provides a space for cultural teachings and ceremony while making place-based learning accessible to everyone. "Where are students going to learn about it if not on the land, where it comes from?" she said. "This is a traditional building of this land. "If you live here, you need to learn about living here." As for what instruction will look like, Cross said to start — teachings about the Njel. "What is its meaning, why is it here, how was it built, and its traditional uses," she said. "Then any kind of learning. It's the space itself that is part of the magic. It's a living thing in itself." Cross hopes students from other schools can experience the Njel too, and that elders come by on a regular basis. "It's a bit of a scaffolded situation," she said, noting students continue to work on the building and take part in a nearby hide camp, which is on this week. "When I say the students are driving it, they're driving it."
CBC
23-02-2025
- General
- CBC
'We need it back in our community': Yukon First Nation starts language immersion program
Some Kwanlin Dün First Nation citizens are learning to speak Southern Tutchone for the first time. They are participating in a new Southern Tutchone Language Revitalization Program facilitated by Kwanlin Dün First Nation in partnership with the Yukon Native Language Centre and Simon Fraser University. The program is meant to encourage citizens to speak and share Southern Tutchone with their community. "I've always wanted to take language but I thought I was too old for it," said Ron Thompson, one of the students in the program. "I have nieces and nephews and if they actually see that it's changed me and the positive outlook on all of it, they will hopefully one day say, 'I want to be like Uncle Ron.'" Chief Sean Smith says the community has lost many of its Southern Tutchone speakers, and this program is a way of bringing the language back. "We did have more speakers 20 plus years ago, but now we've lost a number of our Elders that were fluently speaking, which creates concerns," Smith said. "Using the immersion method of instruction to really promote that and use our language is really great, but it also encourages an understanding of that First Nation worldview." The program includes nine university courses taught by instructors at the Yukon Native Language Centre. It started in January with a four week immersion course, where students were immersed in the language for up to six hours a day. Now, students are also learning to read and write in Southern Tutchone. The program also includes two on-the-land camps where students will participate in cultural activities while speaking in Southern Tutchone. Students hope to become teachers Kiana Blake is just 19 years old. She says she is participating in the program so she can teach her language to others in the community, like her her family and friends. "It's just a way our community can connect together, same with my family and friends," Blake said. "I'm proud to be where I'm from, and how I'm able to hold conversations now and speak my ancestors' language." Blake is not only speaking the language outside of the classroom, she is also sharing it on social media. Over the past few weeks, she has been posting videos to TikTok where she shares the words she's learned in Southern Tutchone. "I have a lot of fun making them and being able to put that out there in the world," Blake said. Students in the course will receive a Certificate of Language Proficiency from Simon Fraser University when they complete the program in June. Many of the students in the program have already put their names forward to teach future courses through the Yukon Native Language Centre after they complete the program. Alisha Malcolm says her grandmother used to speak to her in Southern Tutchone, but she lost the language when she was only five-years-old. Now, after losing her grandmother, she's relearning the language again in her forties. "I think her, my aunties, my uncles, the ones who have all passed away, they would be very proud of me, I say. And right now I can feel it in my body that they're with me and it makes me happy." Malcolm says she hopes she will be able to speak Southern Tutchone with her daughter, who is learning the language at daycare. She plans to teach the language to her own children and others one day.
