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We have been asked for several years to change NWT Literacy Week from September as this is a very busy time in many NWT communities. Earlier this year, we decided to host NWT Literacy Week during the third week of April each year. NWT Literacy Week 2020 will take place April 19-25. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 30 Years of the NWT Literacy Council”. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and physical… Read more.

With the COVID-19 outbreak most of us are spending a lot more time at home than we usually do. With social gatherings, events and activities all cancelled for now, we have a lot more free time on our hands. So why not try a new hobby or learn something new? Here are a few resources: Yoga Native Strength Revolution’s goal is to create a new generation of Indigenous healers through leadership… Read more.

It’s the 1930s in Holland and your mother is taking you and your three siblings for an appointment. You watch as she runs her finger along the family coat closet, pulls out the oldest coat she owns and puts it on. This is the coat she wears when she must take the children to the dentist. It is the first tactic in her end game of whittling down the fees from the dentist appointment that day,… Read more.

Our Ever Awesome NWT Brushing Song Had anyone ever told me when I was running laps at JBT in grades 4,5, and 6 back in the 70’s in Fort Smith, NWT, that I’d hold my 25th book in that same gymnasium at the tender age of 48 as a father, a husband, a son and a brother and had someone told me that my 25th book would be illustrated by a Hay River artist named Neiva Mateus and that our book would be … Read more.

With all NWT schools closed until April 14, families are thinking about the many days at home and how to pass the time together. This time of social distancing is a great opportunity to do some special family literacy activities at home. My family took time this weekend to make a list of all of the things we would like to do together during this time. It was fun to do this together as a family… Read more.

I was approved for a Canadian Working Visa in late 2019. I didn’t know anyone in Canada so didn’t have a destination in mind. I opened Google maps, scrolled towards the north and liked the sound of Yellowknife, so I booked a flight. I was aware that there would be some major differences. Leaving an Australian summer to enter a Canadian winter was going to be interesting. I was prepared for cold… Read more.

April 2020 marks 30 years since the NWT Literacy Council was created. We are excited to celebrate with you all year long, starting with NWT Literacy Week from April 19 to April 25. We have several events, contests, and ways to share memories planned for the whole year. Please join us in celebrating the hard work of NWT residents in increasing the profile of literacy as well as increasing their… Read more.

Uvanga atira kivvaq. Sallirmiut inuuvialuuyunga. Ilatka tuktuuyaqtuumin qaimayuat. Chicagomi inuuniaqtunga. Aniyuami iniruqlungalu Nunatchiami.  My name is Nikita. I am a Sallirmiut Inuvialuk. My family is from Tuktuyaaqtuuq. I live in Chicago now, but I was born and raised in the Northwest Territories. I can only speak English, but my goal is to become fluent in Sallirmiutun, my native… Read more.

Negha dágondíh? Dawn Bell-Isaiah suzhe, Sambaalįah gots’eh āaht’e, duh Łíídlįį Kúé nāhendēh, Cathy Sanguez aaht’e metúé, George Bell heɂi aaht’e metúé. (How are you? My name is Dawn Bell-Isaiah. I am from Trout River, I live in Fort Simpson, I am the daughter of Cathy Sanguez and the late George Bell.) I was so proud to learn how to introduce myself in our language. I say it proudly whenever I… Read more.

Indigenous languages need to reclaim space in our everyday lives once again. But when you are a beginner, finding a starting point to do that can feel daunting and overwhelming. So, here are five simple ways that have worked for me to help bring Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì back into my everyday life: Pick one word and commit to replacing it in your everyday speech. It will start to feel more and more normal… Read more.