Cynthia Pavlovich has always felt through most of her life like there's a bit of hole inside of her.

"There were times I tried to fill that with the wrong kinds of relationships, or drugs, or alcohol or even trying to be a workaholic," she said.

None of the aforementioned avenues helped fill that void. Instead, it was learning her Indigenous language, Gwich'in, that brought her fulfillment.

"Learning the language and taking back my culture has filled my heart in a way that I can't even explain. It's grounded me. It's given me purpose. It's filled that space that I didn't know what to fill with."

Earlier this year, Pavlovich was a recipient of the Second Language Learner Award. It's part of the GNWT's Mentor Apprentice Program (MAP), where a fluent speaker of an Indigenous language teaches a language learner. The goal of the program is to have apprentices learn and strengthen Indigenous languages in the NWT.

Pavlovich said she and her mentor, Eleanor Mitchell-Firth, have become quite close since starting her lessons.

"I asked her, as a total stranger to be honest, if she would be willing to be my Gwich'in mentor and she said yes," Pavlovich said. "We developed a really lovely friendship. I'd even almost say she's become like family, really."

Pavlovich said she's regained enough language skills to use Gwich'in in her daily life and shares it with friends and family. She also recorded each of her lessons with Mitchell-Firth and plans on listening to them again to keep up with her learning.

"If I get the opportunity to get back into a MAP program in the future I would definitely do that again," she added.

Part of the reason learning Gwich'in matters is so she can pass it down to her three sons, she said.

"They've always been an inspiration to me, to find different ways to share love and that is a Gwich'in value that is first and foremost in my home," she said. "Any way that I can share my love of the language and the culture with anyone, it's a gift I'm really blessed to be able to hand out."

Pavlovich's sister also recently gave birth to a baby, so now Pavlovich has a young nephew to help guide in Indigenous ways. 

"There's another reason to learn the language and share it," she said.

For her newest nephew, Pavlovich said she's working on a baby book. She said it will be about numbers. 

Perhaps what's most important is how learning Gwich'in has been a healing process. Pavlovich explained that her mother is a residential school survivor. Pavlovich has become the only one in her family who can speak Gwich'in.

"I'm the first mom on both sides of my family in about three generations to raise my own kids in my own home," she said. "I'm a cycle-breaker. It makes me feel very strong and empowered and very hopeful for future generations."