Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 12/02) - The Gwich'in are seeking input from their people to the way culture and social issues will be guided over the next five years.

The Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute has formalized the five-year plan and will soon be releasing the draft for approval and suggestions.

Research Director, Ingrid Kritsch says they have conducted 60 to 70 interviews during the drafting of the plan that will lay the groundwork for future projects.

"It will guide us in our work for the next five years," Kristch said, adding that the plan has four major components.

One of the most important mandates is restoration and preservation of the Gwich'in language.

"There is no language curriculum in place, so all these years we've been teaching the language, there has been no curriculum," she said. "I find that quite mind-boggling."

She feels the territorial government should take a more active role in ensuring the preservation of traditional languages.

"I think there should be a language curriculum for the whole Mackenzie Valley and each region can tailor it to their own needs," she added.

She says the institute will gladly work with the Education Culture and Employment and Beaufort Delta Education Council to develop a curriculum.

"We can only do a small part of it, BDEC and ECE also have to do their part," Kritsch said. "We're trying to clarify what our role will be."

Another key point of the plan is in the continuation of the heritage work the institute has been doing over the past years.

Projects on place names, oral history, archaeological work and the replication of clothing that began two years ago.

Partnership with museum

Working with the Canadian Museum of Civilization and seamstresses, the institute has been recreating traditional Gwich'in costumes.

"Two of the five are done and we hope to have all five done by the end of June," Kritsch said.

They hope to showcase the clothing at the Gwich'in Gathering in Old Crow, Yukon, this summer. To store and showcase the work that they have been doing, Kritsch says people have also expressed an interest in having a building constructed in Tsiigehtchic.

"We have a fairly confined workplace, so as we expand we need more room," she said.

The sparse workplace they now have is too small to house the exhibits and archives collected.

"Over the years we have built up a very large collection of audio tapes and photographs," she said.

"It would be nice to have an area where people could come in to listen to their grandparents talking about life on the land and look at the photographs." The last mandate of the plan was a question that arrived out of the implementation of self-government:

"What responsibility should the Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute have for the issues related to health and justice?"

Kritsch said that because of funding restraints, the institute has only been able to carry-out the cultural part of their mandate, but need to address the social aspect as self-government comes on stream.

People are urged to contact the institute in Tsiigehtchic for any input they'd like to see included in the five-year plan.