Inuvik (Feb 17/03) - Fondly known as a grandma to everyone, 84-year-old Catherine Mitchell travels all across the Mackenzie Delta promoting better treatment of children.

Gwich'in meetings. She uses the opportunity to encourage parents and community leaders to take a closer look at the way they their raise children.

"One time we were having a meeting and people were talking about the kids not behaving," said Mitchell. "I hate that word they use -- bad."

So Mitchell stood up and explained that telling a child he or she is bad will only make them feel inadequate and worthless.

"We're always supposed to encourage them and say they are good kids, even if they misbehave.

"You should take them aside and tell them whatever they are doing is not nice, lovingly. Because that's the way mom brought us up," she said.

When Sir Alexander Mackenzie school opened in the 1960s, Mitchell visited the children on a regular basis just to share stories about her life growing up in Aklavik. She became recognized as a role model within the community, known for treating each and every child with love and respect.

"The kids, when I am walking on the street, they always run to me and hang onto me or call me grandma. It makes me feel really good to be a grandmother to everyone," she said.

Because she has grown a little older now, Mitchell does not often visit the school to share her stories any more. But she does welcome invitations from the teachers.

Mitchell herself was deprived of attending school as a child. Her father was an RCMP special constable in Aklavik who refused to let her go to school. The nearest school was in Hay River at the time, and Mitchell's father didn't want her to go away.

But Mitchell didn't give up on learning. She taught herself to read, using the Bible as her tool. If she didn't understand the meaning of a word, she would look up its meaning in the dictionary.

In the future, Mitchell hopes parents will adapt the old-fashioned way of raising children -- together as a community.

"Everyone should talk to the kids. They will listen," she said.