Anyone who steps into Carol Norwegian's office at Aven Manor can tell she's been busy. She's the volunteer recreation supervisor and has been working at the senior citizens centre for almost two decades.

Times have changed since she started her job, but change is nothing new to Norwegian. She grew up in what was basically a square box in Inuvik that came with what she called a honey bucket, a toilet that has to emptied by hand.

"Then we eventually got into what's called public housing, which actually had running water and toilets, so there was definitely a big change from there," she recalled.

She added that technology is growing at a much faster pace now than when she was growing up.

"Some of the older generation, they don't have bank accounts. 'What's an email? What's a cellphone?'"

Norwegian's family is big, with almost a dozen siblings, some of whom passed away at a young age, she said. She said she's in contact with some of her surviving siblings, in particular her youngest brother who also lives in Yellowknife.

"We see each other all the time," she said.

There's a sign to a person's left as soon as they step into Norwegian's office. It lists off Gwich'in values, which include respect, teaching, laughter and strength. Norwegian said she's Gwich'in herself but doesn't know how to speak the language.

"My mother did teach me a few words, but like the saying goes, 'If you don't use it, you lose it.' My mom was brought up in a residential school and she was told that she could not speak her language because it was the devil's tongue."

Norwegian said her mother refused to teach her or any of her siblings how to speak the Gwich始in language. As they got older, it became more accepted for Indigenous people to speak their native language, she added. So, her mother started recording her language to keep it alive. Norwegian said she's interested now in learning to speak Gwich'in and carrying on that piece of culture with her grandchildren. 

"One of the biggest things now is that we're losing our Elders so fast that a lot of our language history is being lost with them," said Norwegian. "In our Gwich始in Settlement Area, we have a Gwich始in social/cultural institute that has been working very hard to record our language and stories," she added.

There are Indigenous residents and staff at Avens, said Norwegian. Hearing and relating to their stories is really nice, she said.

"Our beliefs and values are somewhat different according to the different areas that we're in," she explained. 

Norwegian recounted how she would travel up the Mackenzie River to visit people in other NWT communities, such as Fort Good Hope.

"The land claims have put us in an area that titles us as Gwich始in," she said. "But, as they say, for Aboriginal people, there are no borders."