It has long been a dream of CBC broadcasters and many people in the North to preserve the rich collection of content we have in Indigenous languages. CBC is now embarking on this project.
It is a project ‘of the heart’. Our Indigenous language collection represents a living record of the languages and cultures of the North. The preservation and restoration of the collection speaks to the mandate and values of the CBC.
Our plan is to digitise, catalogue and make available online ALL CBC North television and radio content broadcast in Inuktitut, Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, Tłı̨chǫ, South Slavey, Chipewyan, and Cree. This includes all the content in our archives and future broadcasts.
As we build this new content library, there's an opportunity for CBC and other broadcasters to share these stories and open up discussions about the importance of preserving language, culture, history, and ancestry in northern communities.
The CBC has established a core team in Yellowknife to lead this work. We need to build close relationships with northern communities to shape and contribute to this project. Ideally we will engage members of the Indigenous language communities, and educational and cultural organisations, to work with us.
The long term goal is to have all our archives available online by 2020.
— Janice Stein, Managing Director CBC North
