Sambaalįah at Heart
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 can. I am a Dene woman from the Dehcho Region, born in Yellowknife, NT and raised in the Dehcho. A big part of my life took place at my parents’ homestead of Sambaalįah…
Five simple ways to make space for Indigenous languages in your everyday life
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 until you don’t think twice about using it. Once that happens pick a new one. One of the easy words that I, my daughter, and even my non-Dene husband use is the…
Reclaim your language without shame or fear
I acquired my Inuvialuktun language at home with my parents and family. At that time in the 1960’s, it was the dominant language. Spending time on the land and from living in a tiny isolated village, I was taught by example to be aware and to be watchful, mostly having to do with the environment and wildlife. On many occasions we encountered the polar bear, or nanuq, within the village and during our travels. One time there was a nanuq right close to our tent. It was at the dog tie-out line and the dogs were lying flat on the snow — they were quiet and…
Qanuqtun taivakpatdjuk Inuinnaqtun? (What do they call it in Inuinnaqtun?)
Uvanga atira Tiffany Sarah Kuliktana Ayalik. Inuinnayunga. My name is Tiffany Sarah Kuliktana Ayalik. I am Inuinnait from the Kugluktuk region, but was born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT. The language of the Inuinnait is Inuinnaqtun, a dialect of Inuktut spoken in a handful of communities in the Western Arctic. Inuinnaqtun is one of the 11 official languages of the NWT. It is a beautifully complex language, and learning it is even more so. I did not grow up speaking Inuinnaqtun. Once in a while, a phrase would…
30 years of great resources
2020 marks 30 years since the NWT Literacy Council was created as an organization. We are so proud of the work that has been done over the last 30 years, and so thankful for the people who have contributed to the Council’s success. Throughout 2020, we will be celebrating the board, staff and community members who have been promoting literacy across the NWT for 30 years. We will also be sharing three decades full of memories. Did you know that we have created over 200 resources since 1990? Some of those resources are available in all 11 Official Languages of…
Our Christmas Book Picks Part 2
Immigrant City, by David Bezmozgis is on my Christmas wish list. This collection of short stories presents immigrant characters in all their complexity and contradictions. An interview on CBC with the author really intrigued me to know these stories more deeply. It reminds me how unique each of the experiences are of newcomers to Yellowknife. I hope that, because it is short stories, I will be able to put the book down and get some work done between stories! - Karen Johnson, Community Connections Coordinator My son…
Our Christmas Book Picks Part 1
Each December, NWT Literacy Council staff choose a book that they will be giving as a gift, would like to receive and read over the holiday, or a favourite book they have been given in the past. This is the first half of our picks. Read our blog again next week to see more. The book that I’m choosing to recommend for a Christmas gift this year is educated by Tara Westover. This is a memoir about the author’s fundamentalist upbringing in the mountains of Idaho. Growing up, Westover didn’t go to school, to a doctor, or even have a birth certificate…
Canada Learning Bond promotion event
On Thursday Nov 21, 2019, the NWT Literacy Council and many participants from across the Northwest Territories gathered in Yellowknife to learn about and share information on the Canada Education Savings Programs. The Canada Education Savings Program is a program of the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada has set aside funding to help make post-secondary education more affordable for all Canadians by encouraging early planning and saving. We began by learning about the two programs under the Canada Education Savings Program: the Canada…
Why is saving for post-secondary education important?
This week is Education Savings Week in Canada. This is a great opportunity to think about the reasons to save for our children’s future education, and learn about some programs to help with savings. Even with my children only being 2 and 4 years old, I have started to think about what post-secondary education will cost by the time they are at that stage. As part of our Canada Learning Bond promotion project, NWT Literacy Council asked current and past post-secondary students a question: What would you do with $2000? We had ideas of what people would say, like…
Indigenizing Education
Indigenizing? Reconciling? What do these words mean to me and what do they mean to you? Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, Associate Professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, issued this challenge to participants in his workshop last week. Along with campus instructors from Aurora College’s Developmental Studies program, Kathryn and I spent two days examining the concept of Indigenizing education. Dr. Angela James started with an overview of the work of the Indigenous Languages Secretariat in the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment. She…
Sharing with our colleagues from across Canada
Did you know that our PGI Bowl-a-Thon for Literacy was just one of 10 different PGI fundraising events across Canada this year? There are 12 literacy organizations affiliated with PGI Canada in different provinces and territories. Each hosts a unique event, with the goal of raising funds and awareness of literacy activities. In 1985, well known CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski had an idea: why not get a few friends together to play golf and raise money for literacy programs while having fun? The Peter Gzowski Invitational was born and was an instant success. The…
Three Money Tips From an Accounting Student
This blog is reposted from November 8, 2016. I've learned many things about finances and money as an accounting student. Here are my three most important tips for managing money. Know where your money goes More often than not we are unaware of where we spend our money. We’re confused about where it goes and why we aren’t closer to meeting our savings goals. One way to see where it all goes is to write down or track all of your spending for a month. November is Financial Literacy Month, What a great month to start. Write down what comes in from salary or…
Planning to manage change
The board and staff members of the NWT Literacy Council met face-to-face last weekend for a board meeting, our Annual General Meeting (AGM), and a strategic planning session. Our Board of Directors has members from each region of the NWT. Because of the costs associated with northern travel, our board usually meets via conference call with one in-person meeting each year. This meeting usually happens in the fall and coincides with our AGM. Our AGM gives us an opportunity to share our annual report with our members, present our audited financial reports and…
Thankful for Canada
Arriving in a new country as a refugee is much different than arriving as an immigrant. In the first case you will accept the first chance to get yourself and your family away from a war zone. In the other case you make your selection based on deep thinking and you prepare what is needed to start your new life. As a refugee, once you make your first step you will start wondering and worry what to do, but the Canadians made it very easy. I can’t forget the words I heard most from almost everyone I met in my early days in Canada. “Thanks for coming…
Connecting the north through libraries
Libraries have become so much more than stacks of books and librarians telling you to keep your voice down. They have expanded into busy learning centres for sharing information and building community. From renting DVDs and audiobooks to attending library programs, people enter a library for lots of different reasons. The diversity of library patrons relates to why people choose to visit their local library. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking for information on how to launch your business, or an artistic teenager looking for tips on how to improve…