We Are Our Language

I had the privilege of curating We Are Our Language at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre

June 29 - October 12, 2019

In celebration of 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Languages as recognized by the United Nations, the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, in partnership with the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Yukon Native Language Centre, present: We Are Our Language

Language is a central part of the human experience. We use language to communicate in all sorts of ways. We can use our mouths to speak language, we can use our hands to do the speaking for us, we can read, we can write, and we can communicate through our body movements. We also have the ability to learn more than one language and multiple dialects. The first language that is spoken in the home or as a child is known as “mother-tongue.”

There are thousands of languages (over 7,000) spoken in the world today. Interestingly, languages have the ability to adapt and change throughout time, including First Nation Languages. Yukon has a history of colonization from the infamous Klondike Gold Rush, the building of the Alaska Highway to Indian residential schools, which put pressure onto First Nation Languages. This pressure caused a dramatic shift from First Nation Language use to English being the main language of use. The residential schools’ legacy was to eradicate Indigenous Languages from students. This was, thankfully, unsuccessful. Today, Survivors of the schools are some of the leading speakers in communities. All Yukon First Nation communities are working to reverse the language shift so as to reclaim their languages as their first languages and main languages of use in homes, schools, communities, in workplaces and governments, and out on the land.

There are eight recognized First Nation Languages in Yukon including Hän, Gwich’in, Kaska, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Tagish, Tlingit, and Upper Tanana. Each of these languages have their own regional dialects, still spoken today. Tlingit is the only Yukon First Nation Language that is not part of the Athapaskan family of languages. Mountain Slavey is recognized by the Ross River Dena; however, it is not yet a recognized Yukon First Nation Language. Inuvialuit and Tahltan are not currently official Yukon First Nation Languages, however, they are spoken in certain regions of the Yukon.

First Nation Languages in Yukon have been passed on naturally for generations and hold important worldviews, knowledge, ceremonies, song, and prayer that are vital to self and collective identity. Our languages are complex and hold the key to systems of governance, traditional science and medical-based knowledge, mathematics and geography, and the list goes on. Seven of the eight Yukon First Nation Languages continue to be taught in Yukon schools. Although the number of fluent speakers has rapidly decreased, we are seeing a significant revitalization and resurgence of interested young speakers in communities.