How Frog Brought Winter, a childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 book honouring traditional Dene storytelling, was published at the end of May as the second in a Yellowknife-Education-District-1 (YK1) series focused on reclaiming Indigenous stories.
The series, organized by Scott Willoughby, YK1 Indigenous education coordinator, seeks to gather EldersSA国际影视传媒� stories in their traditional languages to be translated and passed on to students across the territory.
For How Frog Brought Winter, Gameti author Joe Lazare met with Richard Van Camp to recount legends of the land, the animals and their peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 history.
Van Camp and Lazare worked with Tlicho language instructor SA国际影视传媒� and LazareSA国际影视传媒檚 niece SA国际影视传媒� Madeline Pasquayak for the translation.
The story depicts a frog, the smallest animal in the group, being a hero who helps the others find their cool in the harsh heat of summer. Demonstrating to readersSA国际影视传媒� that SA国际影视传媒渘o matter how small, you have a purpose in life,SA国际影视传媒� Pasquayak said.
She said it is important to document these stories about the role that animals have played in our lives to cultivate respect for the land.
Through stories like these she hopes students SA国际影视传媒渄evelop a love for the land so that we could protect the land for these animals.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淭he behaviour of these animals all tell a story if we pay attention,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Pasquayak said it is important to have stories like these in both the Tlicho language and English so that the stories carry on as a resource. Plus, collaborating with her uncle was an added bonus, she said.
As Elders age, traditional languages are in decline, Willoughby said. Stories like How Frog Brought Winter have been around for thousands of years but are not always getting passed along or are losing meaning in translation.
The YK1 series seeks to preserve EldersSA国际影视传媒� stories and share them as they were told in their original language with translations that retain their meaning.
The first book in the series, How Raven Returned The Sun, was published in North Slavey in 2016.
How Frog Brought Winter is now published in Tlicho. YK1 hopes to share more stories in all nine of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 officially-recognized Indigenous languages, accoding to YK1 communications managert Mike Gibbons.
SA国际影视传媒淐ollaborative projects like the one to bring JoeSA国际影视传媒檚 story to life should become more commonplace as we all work towards true reconciliation.SA国际影视传媒�
A third book in the series is underway, Willoughby said though it is too early to indicate when it might be released. He said the team is constantly on the lookout for EldersSA国际影视传媒� willing to share their stories and pass on the knowledge to future generations.
SA国际影视传媒淚 am reminded once again how important it is not to wait to record your Elders, Knowledge Keepers, artists and family,SA国际影视传媒� NWT writer Richard Van Camp wrote in the bookSA国际影视传媒檚 forward.
SA国际影视传媒淲e are living in a time of great reclaiming in which Indigenous people are saying loudly and proudly, SA国际影视传媒業 am taking responsibility to learn my language and culture,SA国际影视传媒� and this is a powerful time to witness that empowerment and support it.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淢ay we all learn from JoeSA国际影视传媒檚 sharing of this precious story: everyone has medicine power.SA国际影视传媒�
