New road signs in Teslin, Yukon, aim to promote Tlingit language

The next time you drive through the community of Teslin, Yukon, you may notice some new road signs.

The Village of Teslin has erected approximately 50 signs that read both in English and Tlingit.

Tim Hall, language co-ordinator with the Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC), says the language revitalization initiative started a few years ago but there were interruptions along the way.

"It's sort of like a few people work on it and then leave it be," Hall said.

"It's kind of gone on like that for a few years but we've always had this intention of making public signage in Teslin bilingual."

Hall says in 2019, local resident Mike Hodgson took the initiative to start the project up again.

"Tlingit could be more of a living language," Hodgson said.

"It could be such a simple thing, where people start using the word 'stop' in Tlingit. Or 'enter' or 'exit.' It could become second-hand."

Hodgson first came to Teslin in 1981.

"When I came here, Tlingit was still being spoke on the street corner," he said. "Over the last 40 years, it's just stopped."

Besides road signs, Hodgson would like to see local stores using "open" and "closed" signs that are in Tlingit.

Making language more visible, prominent

Fluent Tlingit speakers Bessy Cooley and Sam Johnston were enlisted to help out with the project.

"They're the two speakers who provided the translations on the road signs we're working on," Hall said.

"Someone like me just asks what the answer is and I write it down. They're the ones that actually have the knowledge."

Hall says there are a few different language revitalization projects on the go, but creating bilingual signs for the community was an easy decision.

He says the goal is "to make the language more visible to people and more prominent."

Now the goal is to have signs along the Alaska Highway in the area translated to Tlingit.

"There's only a few of them, and fairly close to Teslin." 

Hall also hopes to see the village's street-name signs translated, as well.

The goal behind the Teslin Tlingit Council's language revitalization initiatives are to share the First Nation's language and culture with all of those who live and visit their traditional territory.