TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
More than two dozen youth, elders and instructors from across the Deh Cho gathered at Ekali Lake near Jean Marie River the afternoon of Aug. 8 for the first day of the Dehcho K'ehodi Youth Camp.

Youth gather to practise some Dene Zhatie phrases. Nailia Tsetso, left, listens with Esmeralda Antoine and Shay Lynn Hope as Dahti Tsetso explains the exercise. To Dahti's right, Mikayla Lafferty and Jamie Deneyoua-Nahanni listen as well. Behind Dahti is Sahtle Tsetso. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

A partnership between Dehcho First Nations, Jean Marie River and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, the camp runs all week and usually focuses on ecology.

This year, however, there's a twist - with the help of elders from Jean Marie River, youth will get involved in the final stages of the band's Dene place names mapping project.

The camp opened with explanations from Dahti Tsetso, with Dehcho First Nations, Fort Providence's Frank Hope, Andy Norwegian and Margaret Ireland on what the mapping project means and how youth will be expected to get involved.

Participants were given a history of some of the region's names, including Ekali Lake and Jean Marie River itself.

Ireland said she plans for youth and elders to go around Ekali Lake and report the names of points or bays the elders remember.

Following the camp opening, Ireland said the Dene mapping project was sparked by a traditional knowledge study undertaken in 2004, which identified place names.

"After that, I decided to understand the area (the study) talked about. It became important to me," Ireland said.

"In 2014, we started working on what each name meant and how it came to be named."

Ireland said the community has lost many of its elders, and with them much knowledge. That's why it is important to bring the elders to the lakes - the visual impact of seeing the land can help them remember history.

"They're the ones who hold these names," she said.

Now, Ireland said the project is 80 per cent complete. With this camp focusing on Ekali Lake, she said she hopes it will only take one more year to find the names and meanings for sites around some of the other lakes in the area.

"Hopefully, next year, we will be able to bring the elders to those other lakes," she said.

For Fort Simpson youth William Alger, who just graduated from Grade 12 at Thomas Simpson School, this summer marks the sixth time he has participated in the camp.

Alger said he has not previously been exposed to the Dene mapping project but hopes to come out of the camp with more knowledge.

"I want to prepare myself for when the time comes for me to teach youngsters," he said.

The camps have often been a learning experience for Alger, who says learning about his culture helped him decide to pursue post-secondary education.

"These camps have influenced my decision-making exponentially," he said.

"If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't know what I would be doing in the future."

Ekali Lake, also known as Kelly Lake, has its own Dene name which means "where the reeds grow."

That Dene name was lost over the years but was eventually rediscovered.

The lake itself was named for an elder, whose Dene name was Ekali. Ekali had a cabin in the area and used the lake frequently until his death in 1998.

Some other names in the region, including the Dene name for Jean Marie River, which is Tthek'ehdeli, have changed slightly over the years as syllables were dropped and pronunciation shifted.

Andy Norwegian, an aboriginal language specialist from Fort Simpson, said the language shifts as younger generations adapt it.

"We have lost history just from doing that. That's why it's important to document," he said.

Ireland said she hopes the youth will take the opportunity to learn from their elders while at the camp.

"Throughout the week, I'm hoping the elders will get together after supper, sit around the campfire and teach (the youth) more about the history of Ekali Lake," she said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.