SA国际影视传媒

Skip to content

Yk women revive Indigenous languages

2607lanP1
A smartphone is all Itoah Scott-Enns uses to create her Tlicho language videos. Her Facebook page Speak Tlicho to Me is inspired by a project by the Saami Council, a non-governmental organization representing the Saami indigenous people. Pictured here with her daughter Setiya. Emelie Peacock/NNSL photo

Itoah Scott-Enns patiently explains how to say the words SA国际影视传媒渟ing to meSA国际影视传媒 in Tlicho as her daughter's blond ponytail bounces in and out of the frame.

By sharing her own education in short online videos, 30-year-old Scott-Enns is leading the way in a growing social-media movement to revitalizing Indigenous languages through teaching. The idea germinated at a circumpolar language symposium and she brought it home to Yellowknife in 2015. Today, her Speak Tlicho to Me Facebook page has 692 likes.

Scott-Enns said it is a very personal journey to learn her language, one which she is taking in a very public way. She said she missed out on communicating with her grandparents on her mother's side, as they only spoke Tlicho. When her daughter Setiya was born, she became even more motivated to learn.

Itoah Scott-Enns gets ready to share a practical Tlicho language lesson with her followers on Facebook. Her daughter Setiya often features in her mom's lessons, which are centred around practical words and phrases people will need when interacting with elders, their children and community members. Emelie Peacock/NNSL photo

SA国际影视传媒When I had my daughter I felt like I was on a bit of a time crunch to make the effort to learn more myself to be passing on to her,SA国际影视传媒 she said. SA国际影视传媒淎s I learn phrases and post them, I'm learning them with her, so she's hearing the sounds and learning it at the same time.SA国际影视传媒

Scott-Enns said the language not only transmits Tlicho history and place names, but specific cultural tidbits about how the ancestors lived. She remembers a community member telling her of a place whose name translates into English as Open Mouth River.

SA国际影视传媒The name open mouth kind of makes it sound like it's just the mouth of a river,SA国际影视传媒 she said. SA国际影视传媒淲hat that really means is in the evenings the fish would come up to feed with their mouths open, and our ancestors used to harvest them by spearing them right in the mouth when they would come up to feed.SA国际影视传媒

Speak Tlicho to Me is one of several language revitalization projects using social media to reach their audience. In the NWT, the Gwich'in Language Revival Campaign #SpeakGwichintoMe and Speak to Me in Deh Cho Dene Zhatie are also connecting with people through the internet.

Jacey Charlotte, the 23-year-old founder of the Gwich'in Language Revival Campaign, said the connections extend beyond borders.

SA国际影视传媒I love being told that it's a positive movement,SA国际影视传媒 she said. SA国际影视传媒淟anguage revitalization is a thing and it's happening before our very eyes ... I have supporters across North America who frequently message me, from different backgrounds.SA国际影视传媒

Charlotte, who is originally from Inuvik yet now works in Yellowknife and studies in Whitehorse, grew up spending one hour a day learning Gwich'in in school, as well as being immersed in the language and culture. She said she often would come home arguing with her brother in Gwich'in and spent time with her grandmother, a fluent speaker.

She said Gwich'in people who didn't grow up in Gwich'in Nation or moved away also keep in contact through her page.

Both Scott-Enns and Charlotte were inspired by The Saami Council, a non-governmental organization representing the Indigenous Saami people who live in the Arctic areas of Scandinavia, Finland and Russia. The council started #SpeakSamitoMe to make learning Saami cool for young people by utilizing social media.





(or

SA国际影视传媒

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }