DEH CHO - A reading contest helped Fort Providence students connect with traditional culture during NWT Literacy Week held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1.

Students at Bompas Elementary School in Fort Simpson read together during the Read for 20 Challenge. From left, Nicole Kovacs, Faith Sibbeston, Hayden Kraus and Warren Cli. - Kassina Ryder/NNSL photo

A teacher in Fort Providence incorporated aboriginal language into the Read for 20 Challenge on Sept. 29 - a contest between the NWT and Nunavut where students are encouraged to read for 20 minutes.

Theresa Bonnetrouge, an immersion teacher at Deh Gah Elementary School, said reading to her class in Slavey demonstrated the importance of literacy and maintaining traditional languages.

"Whenever they have literacy week and everybody has to read for about 20 minutes, we join in and read to the kids in Slavey," she said.

Kathryn Barry Paddock, community literacy co-ordinator with the NWT Literacy Council said reading to kids in an aboriginal language can help to restore it.

"The health of aboriginal languages in the territory isn't that strong, but it is a really important part of who people are and part of their culture," she said. "It's important to nurture and strengthen them."

Paddock also said literacy has many real life applications.

"It's more than just being able to read your novel, it's about being able to fill out a form for the government, being able to get a good job, being able to read food labels and recipes to cook nutritious meals for your family, being able to help your children with their homework," she said. "There are all kinds of ways literacy impacts people."

Fort Simpson's Bompas Elementary School principal Chris Kingsbury said the Read for 20 Challenge helps kids learn to enjoy reading.

"This contest helps to develop a love of reading, which slowly seems to be disappearing in the world," he said.

Kindergarten student Mikayla Lafferty was busy reading "Where is the Bear in the City" during the challenge, which she said is one of her favourite books.

This year in the NWT, an additional five minutes was added to the annual Read for 15 Challenge, which Paddock said was done to celebrate the NWT Literacy Council's 20th anniversary.

While Nunavut still follows the Read for 15 Challenge, Paddock said the time frame won't affect the contest.

"It's the actual number of readers that we're counting, not the number of minutes," she said.

Having the two territories competing encourages participation, Paddock said.

"It makes it a little bit fun to have that challenge with Nunavut," she said. "People get a little competitive and get involved."

The winner of the challenge is expected to be announced at the end of this week.

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