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K'ATLODEECHE/HAY RIVER RESERVE - A major step has been taken to preserve and promote the South Slavey language as spoken on the Hay River Reserve.

The "South Slavey Topical Dictionary, Katl'odehche Dialect," as it is titled, was released at a community celebration on Sept. 30.

The dictionary features thousands of words, many of them unique to members of K'atlodeeche First Nation.

"It's good for the kids who don't understand the language," said Clara Lafferty, one of six elders who were instrumental in seeing the dictionary become a reality. "It will give them a chance to learn."

Sarah Lamalice, another elder who helped translate words for the dictionary, agreed it is very important.

"I hope the kids work on it and they learn to speak the language," she said. "It's our language and we should speak it."

Other elders who worked on the project included Jim Lamalice, Daniel Sonfrere, Pat Bugghins and Helen Wandering Spirit.

Dorothy Buckley, the project facilitator, thanked the elders for their work.

In large part, the dictionary is to help young people learn the language in school.

"I think it's cool," said 13-year-old Lynn Buckley of the dictionary.

Buckley, who attends Diamond Jenness secondary school in Hay River, believes the dictionary will help all people learn the language, both at school and at home. She currently speaks a little South Slavey which she learned at school and her goal is to become fluent.

The dictionary was organized and sponsored by the South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC).

Brent Kaulback, the project co-ordinator with the SSDEC, said work on the dictionary started about a year ago. He noted Hay River Reserve and Hay River schools had been using a South Slavey dictionary from Fort Simpson, however some words are different between the two areas.

"These are the words from the elders on this reserve here," he said of the new dictionary.

It includes a CD with MP3 files so a person can also hear how the words are pronounced.

"This becomes a living document," Kaulback said.

Chief Alex Sunrise said it is encouraging to see the "awesome" amount of work put into the dictionary by the elders and others.

"I'm grateful because our language needs to be encouraged to be used," Sunrise said.

The chief noted it is hard to know how many people actually speak South Slavey on the reserve, although he noted quite a few do.

Some speak South Slavey fluently, while others may just speak some of the language, he said.

Raymond Sonfrere, executive director of the Dene Cultural Institute, said the new dictionary is very important.

"It's a great gift from our elders," he said.

Sonfrere noted the use of South Slavey is getting stronger on the reserve.

"There are people who are working hard to keep it alive," he said, pointing to languages classes in schools on the reserve and in Hay River.

An online version of the dictionary is also being developed and is expected to be ready by the spring of next year.