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Maple syrup and language

John Thompson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 04/05) - When Johanne Denault arrived in Yellowknife in 1971, the only time she could be served in French was when she caught a fellow francophone at the post office.

"There was nothing in French," she recalled. "Absolutely nothing."




Johanne Denault has watched the francophone population grow in Yellowknife since 1971 and their culture spread through sticky maple syrup.


Since then she's watched the city grow, and the population of franco-te'noise, or french-speaking Northerners, has blossomed with it.

About 700 franco-te'noise live in Yellowknife today. Last week the francophone association celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Denault remembers the organization's humble roots, when buying a typewriter was a big investment. Now services offered include francophone day care and school, a newspaper and a radio station.

The Federation Franco-Te'Noise has battled the territorial government in a supreme court case over services available in French for the last four years, but as Denault recalls, far more is available now than two decades ago.

"We didn't have much, way back then," she said.

The local organization began as a place for francophones to preserve their own culture, but it wasn't long before they opened back out to the larger community.

Sticky faces, mittens and parkas are one influence shared by many Northerners at the annual Caribou Carnival, where francophones began the Sugar Shack during the early '80s.

"We always had maple syrup from Quebec," Venne said, explaining how syrup is boiled until thick, poured on snow and rolled on a stick into a popsicle. "It felt good to share our culture."

She regrets her children grew up without francophone schooling. They attended French immersion, but quickly became bored, she said.

"I wish I would have been here later on for my kids to enjoy this, but it's too late for me."

Marie Venne has that opportunity today, with her six-year-old son enrolled in Grade 1.

"If you can't talk to Grandpa because he can't understand English, you'll be sad," she said. "If you don't use the language, then you lose it."

It's easy to assume Northern francophones hail from Quebec, but many are not. Take Gerard Lavigne, general director of the francophone school board, who comes from Beaumont, Alberta.

Prior to the passage of the Charter of Rights in 1982, he says there was little chance to learn in French outside of Quebec.

"When I went to school, you could only teach French for an hour a day," he said.

Now the Yellowknife francophone school system offers a full K-12 program, although currently there is no one registered in Grades 10 or 11.