Yukon Native Language Center

Posting for Dee and Cal, Travis reported that they were on schedule so far, but that they would be arriving in Skagway on Tuesday instead of Sunday. I interpret this to mean that they decided to spend a night or two in Whitehorse after all. Or maybe they just wanted to take their time.

In any case, while they are in the Whitehorse vicinity, it is worth mentioning the Yukon Native Language Center (YNLC) at the Ayamdigut Campus of Yukon College in Whitehorse. The Centre is a training and research facility which provides a range of linguistic and educational services to Yukon First Nations and to the general public, promoting an awareness of the richness and beauty of Yukon First Nations Languages and an appreciation of the fundamental role they play in the transmission of culture and values from one generation to another.

Similar initiatives can be found at the Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC), Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures (CSUMC) at the University of Wisconsin and the Indigenous Language Institute (ILI) in Santa Fe, NM.

The UN declared 2008 as the International Year of Languages. "Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and planet. Yet, due to globalisation processes, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether. When languages fade, so does the world's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression – valuable resources for ensuring a better future are also lost."