'Anyone can teach': Training program fosters a new generation of Gwich'in speakers

In Old Crow, Yukon, Sophia Flather is excited and hopeful about an upcoming Gwich'in language course she's organizing — a teacher training program that will have up to 20 students, including some who will fly in from other remote northern communities this month to participate in the week-long program. 

"You don't need to be a speaker to teach it, that's the great thing about this method, anyone can teach, it's a really simple method to learn and it's a good and effective teaching method."

First developed for the Salish language and then adapted for various Indigenous languages, the Paul Creek Method aims to get more people learning language quickly. The method uses recordings of fluent speakers, organized into a sequential program. 

Flather jokes it's like a pyramid scheme, getting more people to teach means more people learning and in turn, encouraging others.

"Then we don't have to rely on our fluent speakers to be teaching basic level courses."

Sitting at her kitchen table with her three-year-old, Thomas, on her lap, she says there's been a huge jump in interest, way up from just two students the first time the program was offered in her community.

The Paul Creek Method is a fluency transfer system that aims to get speakers to a high proficiency level. It's been used by numerous Indigenous communities across Canada to help with language revitalization, including Tlingit in both Yukon and northern B.C. 

Interest in the method is also growing rapidly in other parts of the world. 

"We are astounded," says Chris Parkin, principal of the Salish School of Spokane in Washington State and one of the creators of the program.

He says to date 19 Indigenous language communities have adopted the system for language revitalization projects. From Montana to Alice Springs, Australia, the demand keeps growing. 

"Adopting this fluency transfer system, converting it, loading it up with their own language, culture and environment and traditions and then using that to train new advanced fluent speakers," Parkin explained.

The system is always freely given to any Indigenous language community that wants to use it, he says. Parkin has spent time with Flather in Old Crow and is impressed with her drive and determination to help foster new Gwich'in speakers. 

Flather has spent the last few years developing Gwich'in-specific textbooks for the process. She says students are provided with a lot of resources including recordings of master speakers to help with language acquisition. 

'It can be a heavy thing'

UNESCO has identified Gwich'in as a "severely endangered" language. In the most recent census data, Statistics Canada reports fewer than 300 Gwich'in speakers; there are several hundred more in Alaska.

Flather says she doesn't like to think about numbers. She figures there are about 20 to 30 speakers in her community and she says she feels a responsibility to help keep the language alive. 

"It can be a heavy thing to carry because you are learning and at the same time you are developing curriculum and at the same time you're teaching." 

Indigenous languages are also highlighted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, which states they "are a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them."

Flather has worked hard to develop her Gwich'in language skill over the last seven years. As a mother now, she chooses to speak Gwich'in to her son. 

"Even if what I speak with is not the highest level … sometimes I wish there was so much more that I could pass on to him daily, but at the same time, he is hearing so much more than I ever heard and has more of a base than I would have had. I speak just in Gwich'in to him and just hope that that works."

Another mother in the community is also working hard to help her children have as much exposure to Gwich'in as possible. Bree Josie has been working on her Gwich'in language skills for several years. She's signed up for the teacher training this month and is eager to learn more. 

"We practice a lot," says Josie, "We've translated a lot of songs, especially children's songs into Gwich'in."

Josie says she and her husband only use the Gwich'in names of animals when they're with their children and now she says her two-year-old is even thinking in Gwich'in sometimes.

"We were walking down and she said to me, 'mommy — deetrù', she was just so excited that she saw a raven that she just thought it in Gwich'in. It was such an exciting moment for us." 

Meanwhile, Flather admits she's a little nervous to be hosting the upcoming teacher training, but she's also filled with hope. "I just think in language work you always wish you could do more because we're just left with this huge, huge task to do, but, you never know how a little bit of work could really make a huge difference."