When Marie Rose Blackduck speaks Tlicho Yati, she feels a deep connection to her heritage.

SA国际影视传媒淢y language is my passion,SA国际影视传媒� the Elder said from her home in Yellowknife. SA国际影视传媒淚 have a lot of good memories connected to it. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a huge part of my life.SA国际影视传媒�

Blackduck, who is now in her 60s, was born near Behchoko, and was raised on the land. Tlicho Yati was her first language.

SA国际影视传媒淢y parents and grandparents and everybody else around me spoke the language,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e lived in a small camp, and they were all unilingual. Everybody spoke the language, and I was born into it.SA国际影视传媒�

Blackduck began learning English around four or five years old. She said learning English was SA国际影视传媒渁 struggleSA国际影视传媒� at first, but after attending residential school in Fort Smith, she gradually gained a strong command of the language.

In time, she spoke English so often that she admits that her ability to speak Tlicho Yati began to diminish.

SA国际影视传媒淚 did lose my language,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 didnSA国际影视传媒檛 speak it for maybe three, four years.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen I came back [to my family], my mother, she spoke to me in a very caring way. I could see it in her expression, in her eyes, that she was a bit frustrated because I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 understand her and she didnSA国际影视传媒檛 understand me.SA国际影视传媒�

Compelled to nurture her connection to her culture, Blackduck began to practice her first language again, and in time, achieved fluency in it.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a big part of my life,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 am proud to say that I can speak it, I can understand it, I can communicate in it.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 who I am. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 part of my ancestral roots. I cannot imagine life without my language SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 something that I just cannot even comprehend.SA国际影视传媒�

Blackduck loves to educate people about her language, and share it with other Tlicho people SA国际影视传媒� whether they are fluent or not. Her most notable effort to that end is her job with CKLB, where she hosts 90-minute radio programs broadcasted almost entirely in her mother tongue.

SA国际影视传媒淚 do my best to convey everything in the language,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檇 do everything [in Tlicho Yati] if I could SA国际影视传媒� except the music,SA国际影视传媒� she added with a laugh.

Outside of work, Blackduck said she knows many people who are able to communicate in Tlicho Yati at varying levels SA国际影视传媒� including some young people.

SA国际影视传媒淚t grabs my attention [when I hear young people speak the language],SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like when a cat or a dog hears something interesting, and their ears perk up.

SA国际影视传媒淸The young people are] proud that they can speak it, and theySA国际影视传媒檙e proud of the fact that somebody recognizes it.SA国际影视传媒�

There are, of course, many Tlicho young people who donSA国际影视传媒檛 speak the language. Blackduck encourages those youths to take a stab at learning it.

SA国际影视传媒淚f you have a passion for the language, for Tlicho Yati, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not that difficult,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淏ut if you donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the passion, and you donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the confidence to speak it, it can be hard to move forward and grow with the language.SA国际影视传媒�

There is widespread concern that the NorthSA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous languages are at risk of disappearing, as the Elders who speak those languages fluently pass away, and fewer and fewer young people make the effort to learn.

However, Blackduck has a more positive view of the situation SA国际影视传媒� as long as her language continues to be spoken in schools.

SA国际影视传媒淭he concern of people my age and older people is that one day it will die out, but that will never happen,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚t will never, ever die.SA国际影视传媒�