This is the first installment of a two-part series.

As summer temperatures rise and greenery grows everywhere, Dolly SA国际影视传媒淒eeSA国际影视传媒� Pierrot is beginning a 10-month journey to get closer to her Indigenous roots.

Pierrot is among 80 participants in the 2021-2022 Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP) that pairs a fluent speaker of an Indigenous language with a learner. The goal of MAP is to boost the ability of apprentices to understand and speak their language over a 10-month period, with seven to 10 hours of immersion sessions per week. The program operates under the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE)SA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat.

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The 2021-2022 MAP offering pairs training in Inuvialuktun, GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n, Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de (Sahtu GotSA国际影视传媒檌ne), Dene Zhatie, Tlicho and Denesuline (or Chipewyan).

PierrotSA国际影视传媒檚 teacher, Mary Jane Blancho, is instructing her in Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de, the language spoken in Fort Good Hope and in the Sahtu region, where both women are from.

They were in Yellowknife on July 8 and 9 for a training session at the Explorer Hotel for the 12 pairs of Tlicho and Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de language participants. Sessions for the Inuvialuktun and GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n pairs are due to be held in Inuvik on July 13-14 and in Yellowknife on July 20-21 for Dene Zhatie and Denesuline participants, said Angela James, director of the Indigenous Language Revitalization Initiative.

MAP began as a pilot in the NWT in 2019-2020. During the 2020-2021 program, 74 participants completed the 10-month course.

SA国际影视传媒楲anguage is at the tip of my tongueSA国际影视传媒�

Pierrot applied to MAP in May. The program stipulates that mentors canSA国际影视传媒檛 be friends or relatives of the apprentices, although Pierrot was familiar with Blancho from Fort Good Hope.

SA国际影视传媒淚 selected (her) because sheSA国际影视传媒檚 a patient person and I needed somebody thatSA国际影视传媒檚 going to be committed to my learning process for the next 10 months,SA国际影视传媒� Pierrot said. SA国际影视传媒淚 asked her and she said she was interested (and) she eventually said she would be my mentor.SA国际影视传媒�

PierrotSA国际影视传媒檚 goal in MAP is to advance her proficiency in the language to the fluency level. Although she said she can understand Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de fluently, she struggles to string words together into smooth sentences.

Growing up, everyone around her spoke the language but no one in her immediate family actively encouraged her to speak it or helped her with pronunciation.

SA国际影视传媒淚 feel like the language is at the tip of my tongue and it needs to flow,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲hen I told that to the MAP interviewers they said that ISA国际影视传媒檓 at the advanced stage and that learning can happen really quick at that stage. That made me excited and hopeful that ISA国际影视传媒檓 going to start speaking the language fluently. I asked (Blancho) to help me keep this dream alive. She said she would. I needed to hear that commitment from her.SA国际影视传媒�

Mentors and apprentices can agree upon the weekly hours and schedule them how they want. They must submit details on how they spent their time to the MAP coordinator.

Pierrot and Blancho have yet to prepare a detailed plan of their speaking sessions, but Pierrot said theySA国际影视传媒檝e discussed cooking together in Sahtu GotSA国际影视传媒檌ne, talking about recipes, going for walks and picking berries.

SA国际影视传媒淭he other idea was reading a childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 story book in Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Gardening in the language could be an option too, since PierrotSA国际影视传媒檚 community plot is next to BlanchoSA国际影视传媒檚.

This is the first time Blancho has worked in a teaching capacity with the language. She holds a part-time job as a custodian in the Fort Good Hope band office.

Blancho admits to feeling both excitement and nervousness when Pierrot chose her to be a mentor.

SA国际影视传媒淚 wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 sure if I was going to be able to teach her the correct pronunciation, but she said thatSA国际影视传媒檚 OK as long as she learns the right words,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Originally from Colville Lake, Blancho was raised speaking Dene KSA国际影视传媒檈de by her parents.

SA国际影视传媒�(Pierrot) has to work on pronunciation and naming things. ISA国际影视传媒檓 not going to throw big words at her but start with short sentences,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Outside of the MAP sessions, Pierrot encourages friends and family to speak to her in the language as much as possible to give her added encouragement.

SA国际影视传媒淚 want people around me to keep me afloat,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 looking forward to the next 10 months of learning my language fluently, and also building my confidence around my language as well. I think thatSA国际影视传媒檚 a barrier to many people learning the language.SA国际影视传媒�

Next week: Paid to learn the language