February is Indigenous Languages Month in the NWT, and territorial languages commissioner Brenda M. Gauthier hopes people will make the most of it.

SA国际影视传媒淚 would like everyone SA国际影视传媒� and I will do it myself SA国际影视传媒� to make an effort to speak your language this month,SA国际影视传媒� she said on Feb. 1. SA国际影视传媒淩eally make an effort.SA国际影视传媒�

Gauthier has been the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 languages commissioner since January 2021.

Her role and her office exist to protect the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 11 official languages, as set out in the NWT Official Languages Act. That legislation SA国际影视传媒渁pplies to all institutions of the legislative assembly and GNWT departments, corporations, boards, agencies and courts, established by the authority of the legislative assembly,SA国际影视传媒� according to her officeSA国际影视传媒檚 website.

SA国际影视传媒淲e all know that language ties into the culture and the people,SA国际影视传媒� Gauthier said. SA国际影视传媒淲e have nine official Indigenous languages in addition to French and English. I do think itSA国际影视传媒檚 very important that we promote all languages and recognize all languages.

SA国际影视传媒淟anguage is basically who we are, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 how we express ourselves and how we communicate with each other,SA国际影视传媒� she added. SA国际影视传媒淥ur languages describe how we connect to the land and how we connect to other people and to the area, so I think itSA国际影视传媒檚 very important, because if we lose that, I think we lose part of our culture and who we are, identity-wise.SA国际影视传媒�

One of the functions of GauthierSA国际影视传媒檚 office is to field complaints from people who feel their language rights, outlined in the Official Languages Act, are not being met.

People can make complaints by phone, by fax or, if in the vicinity, by walking into GauthierSA国际影视传媒檚 Fort Smith office.

On the whole, she said she doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 receive many grievances.

SA国际影视传媒淚 will admit this office has had a low intake of complaints,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲hen I first started, we were getting regular complaints, but I will admit this last year we have not got any formal complaints.SA国际影视传媒�

The lack of objections from the public could speak to the language revitalization efforts underway across the territory, such as the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 mentor-apprentice program (MAP).

Overall, Gauthier believes the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous languages are in good hands, but that doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 mean there isnSA国际影视传媒檛 room for improvement.

SA国际影视传媒淚 do think great work is being done, but that shouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be all thatSA国际影视传媒檚 being done,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭he Official Languages Act is very focused on the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 provision of Indigenous languages service along with French and English, and I do think services provisioned in all official languages need to be improved, especially Indigenous languages. I do think more work needs to be done.

SA国际影视传媒淥ne thing I would like is for people to hear their language,SA国际影视传媒� she added. SA国际影视传媒淵ou can offer the MAP program where you learn it, but if you donSA国际影视传媒檛 hear it [often], I think that causes part of the deterioration where we lose the language because we donSA国际影视传媒檛 hear it spoken. So I do think we need to hear more of the Indigenous languages in government settings.SA国际影视传媒�