Julius Park leads discussion on language preservation. Photo by Dean Bear.
Maintaining language and culture in Dene communities was the main theme at a Dene language meeting in Prince Albert on Thursday.
Many of the participants are from communities like La Loche, Turnor Lake and Patuanak where the Dene language is the first language of elders and other members.
But youth in those communities are not as fluent in Dene.
Julius Park, who works with the Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre, says a language is a key to identity for a culture. He says today’s technology has made it harder for youth to grasp the Dene language.
“Things have changed and we need to connect to our language and culture,” he said. “And when we lose our language, it disconnects us to who we are as individuals.”
He says that Dene people, regardless of age, should be proud to speak their language, which was also echoed by Noel McIntryre, an elder from Patuanak.
“I have a little granddaughter and I speak Dene to her because I am proud of my heritage. And that is how I earned my language, from watching and listening to my elders,” said McIntrye. “No one has a degree in culture. You see an elder do something like making a snowshoe. That is how you learn, by watching and listening.”
He says that technology has separated youth in communities from their language and culture.
“Right now the only interest the younger generations have is in TV and their phones,” said McIntrye. “Maybe they could text in Dene, but they don’t know their own language.”
Park says there was a lot of good discussion on what the problem is, but not much around where to go next.
He says a smaller working of about nine people from Dene communities in the north will be meeting again in June to start doing some strategic planning.
Park says there are a lot of people who are committed to sustaining their language and that is where they will have to tap into.
He says setting up a network of people who want to revive the Dene language will be key to moving forward and then to engage communities in expanding their knowledge to more people.
The working group will be meeting in June in Prince Albert.