Fort Simpson (Sep 05/03) - Preoccupied by television, computers and video games, today's kids don't put much time into learning Dene traditions or the Slavey language.

To acquaint 15 adolescents with the practices of their grandparents, the teens and pre-teens were flown to North Nahanni Naturalist Lodge at Cli Lake for one week.

For Bobby Cazon, 13, and Joseph Gargan, also 13, the best part was learning how to gut a fish.

"You have to cut it open at the bottom and then you grab all the stuff out and wash (the fish) out," Cazon explained.

Gargan got to handle the whitefish for himself. It felt a little "gooey," he said.

Danita Martineau, 14, said having everybody come together made the camp fun. The highlight was learning to make a lean-to (shelter), she added.

They received instruction from Susan Betsaka, Kurt Tsetso and elder Joseph Tsetso. Travis Edda, Myles Isiah and Erica Menicoche also helped out.

Ria Letcher, who spoke only Slavey until age 5, provided language instruction.

"It's so natural to me. It was my first language," said Letcher, who made a video for parents and relatives of the camp participants. "Out there (at Cli Lake) Joe (Tsetso) and I, we'd be talking and laughing in Slavey and those kids would just be watching and saying, 'I wish I could talk Slavey.'"

Ramona Bain, 12, said herself and the others recited the alphabet in Slavey every day. She almost knows it all by heart, she said.

She figures she can put the new words she has learned to use by practising with her family members.

"I think I'm going to talk to some of my relatives. They know a lot of Slavey," she said.

The youth stayed in the lodge at night.

"It was just like sleeping at home," said Gargan, who added that he'd be glad to go back again.

The project was sponsored by the Liidlii Kue First Nation. The band is also planning to translate various documents, such as the election code and traditional knowledge policy, into Slavey, according to Lorayne Moses, coordinator of the Local Training Authority. Slavey stories and legends will also be posted on the band's Web site, Moses added.