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Teaching them when they're young Paul Bickford Northern News Services Published Monday, March 5, 2012
"It's important because we feel we're losing our language," she said. "So it's really important that we try to keep it going."
Children learn the most about Chipewyan or any language when they're very young, Bailey noted. "It's easier for them to absorb all the new things around them."
The 63-year-old has been the cultural advocate at the daycare for seven years, and, in that time, she has taught the language to about 60 children.
"I teach them just the basics first, like to count to 10," she said. "Some of them I find are too young to teach them to count to 10, so I go as far as five 'til they get to memorize it and then I go from five to 10."
She also teaches the youngsters various Chipewyan words, such as colours and their family members.
By the time some of the children are ready to leave the daycare, they can speak some basic sentences in Chipewyan, such as 'I'm hungry,' 'I'm thirsty,' and 'I want to go to the washroom.'
Bailey said most of the children at the daycare are three or four years old, but some are as young as two.
Even a two-year-old can learn some Chipewyan words and its alphabet.
Usually there are about 11 children at the daycare, which operates each weekday.
The goal of the language instruction is to prepare the children to continue learning the language when they enter kindergarten at Deninu School.
"They have to learn here so when they get to Deninu School they'll know what Chipewyan's all about," Bailey said.
She has been speaking the language all her life. "I spoke it right from the time I was a little girl, because that's all we spoke at home was Chipewyan."
She passes on her knowledge of the language to the children by speaking to them as part of their play and other activities, not through any structured classes.
"Before, we had twice-a-day Chipewyan, but now we don't do that," she explained. "I just talk to them as the day goes on and try to help them to remember."
Some of the children are interested in learning the language, but some don't like it, Bailey said. "Some of them say, 'I don't have to speak it if I don't want to.'"
There's also a problem that, when the children go home, their parents most often don't speak Chipewyan and they can't help the youngsters learn the language.
The daycare is now considering starting evening language classes for parents or any other adults in Fort Resolution.
That way, the parents can also learn what their children are learning at the daycare, Bailey said. "So they both can learn together."
The other part of her role as cultural advocate is to teach children subjects such as how people lived on the land, how to skin rabbits, how to clean fish and ducks, and how to make traditional crafts.
Overall, Bailey said she likes her role at the daycare.
"I enjoy it because I like working with kids," she said. "Kids are my priority in life, I guess."
Bailey raised four children of her own, but she said they were not interested in learning to speak Chipewyan.
"I look back now and I wish I knew the things I know today," she said. "I would have had all four of my kids speaking fluently."
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