N.W.T.'s 1st community self-government to use North Slavey as official language

If you're a politician in the Northwest Territories, it may be wise to brush up on your North Slavey.

The newly-minted Deline Got'ine government — though it's only less than a week old — has made it clear that language will be a central part of its mandate, ushering a shift in terminology that reflects the Great Bear Lake community's core.

The community self-government — the first of its kind in Canada — kicked off a week of celebration Tuesday after holding their first meeting last week. 

Dignitaries from across the territory have flocked to the community, including federal MP Michael McLeod, Premier Bob McLeod, and Gwich'in Tribal Council president Bobbie Jo Greenland Morgan.

The tradition inherent in the Deline Got'ine government manifested itself in a drum dance Tuesday night, where hundreds of people packed inside the community's arena to share songs and stories. Elders took turns addressing the crowd, most in North Slavey — the official language of the new government.

"The dance, that's part of us," said Jane Modeste, one of the new government's councillors. "It's spiritual for us. And that's what language is for."

Language plays a key role in the Deline Got'ine government.

All of the elected councillors speak North Slavey, and elected positions and activities will be officially North Slavey terms, rather than conventional English ones. 

The council is known as the Délı̨nę K'ɑowǝdó Kǝ (pronounced cow-way-doe-kay), and community meetings are Délı̨nę Łénɑts'ehdǝ́ Dzené (day-le-nay-si-eh na-ts'ay-day dzeh-neh).

Instead of being called "chief," Raymond Tutcho leads the government as the ʔekw'ahtı̨dé (pronounced "e-kwah-tee-day). Translated into English, it means "highest honest leader."

The word, Modeste said, is more than just a symbolic gesture, it's an aspirational one — and a way of reconnecting with the community's history.

"It's the highest person," she said. "[It] means righteous. That's the main thing. You're righteous to everybody. You're truthful to everybody. You're even to everybody. That's what it means."

'It's going to make a difference for us'

Modeste, who's worked as a translator in the past, says the return to North Slavey in government also has practical applications.

Unilingual elders will no longer require translation services, and government leaders — many of whom spoke the Dene dialect before English — will be able to more clearly communicate their ideas.

"It's going to make a difference for us," she said. "When I speak my language, I feel so much more comfortable. I express my thoughts so much easier than when I do in English. 

"Language has always been with us, from the beginning of time. It's changing, but that's what's going to make us who we are. We'll be unique because we have our own language, we have our own culture, we have our own way of doing things."

Tutcho said an emphasis on language — as well as Dene Laws that will guide the Deline Got'ine government — will be key in the community's future plans for education.

"The Dene laws reflect the well being of our culture, our spirituality," he said. "We're going to have to phase it into our education department so that our kids are more aware."

And what does Tutcho think of his new title?

"A lot better than 'chief,'" he said.

"I think [Deline] likes the word ʔekw'ahtı̨dé. More to it than the English word."