INUVIK - Barbara Memogana walked into Aurora College in Inuvik Tuesday afternoon accompanied by her pack of sun-kissed Aboriginal Language and Cultural Instructor students.

Karra Dillon shows off the resources she has made to teach children in Tuktoyaktuk Siglit language and culture in the Aboriginal Language and Cultural Instructor program at Aurora College. - Kira Curtis/NNSL photo

The group of students spent the crisp, sunny Tuesday out on the land, learning to set snares, light dry willow fires and eating caribou stew.

This is Memogana's first year teaching the diploma program, but over the years she assisted her predecessor, Liz Hansen. She walks into her classroom answering questions with such confidence it's like she's an old hand at this.

The program is made up of students - all women, save one happy guy - from around the Beaufort Delta region, each with different Inuvialuktun dialects and cultures, all learning together.

"It's nice to have the three dialects in here because they're learning the three dialects with their own," Memogana said resting in a chair, "so they're really fortunate to have the two other languages other than their own."

The Northwest Territories Literacy Council has declared March Aboriginal Languages Month, a territory-wide push to promote the aboriginal languages of the NWT to keep its languages strong in the future.

Sitting across from Memogana is first-year student Karra Dillon. Both women look equally exhausted by the barrage of fresh air they were just hit with.

Dillon is just shy of two months away from beginning her five-week practicum back in her home town of Tuktoyaktuk.

"I always had an interest in our language and I'd always listen even though I didn't understand our elders," Dillon said. She was sent to residential school when she was young and never spoke her family's tongue, Siglit, but was able to retain some understanding.

"Just by listening you pick up (language) without thinking you're learning."

Dillon's excitement is apparent when she talks about learning to teach her language to new generations.

She acknowledged there are many in current generations who have stopped speaking aboriginal languages completely and she wants to regain what she has lost.

"Because of the residential impact, there's an age difference, there's a gap where we all went to residential schools and lost it."

Both Dillon and Memogana agreed getting the kids of the younger generations excited about their traditional languages is the way to ignite a spark that could spread into a fire of regained culture.

"The more you promote it, the more they're going to start being aware of it," she said, "from the residential (schools) it was so impacted on us, it took most of our language away. So now it's time to revive it."

All semester Dillon has been making games and educational tools to help teach the kids from Tuktoyaktuk. The difficulty is Tuktoyaktuk, like most small communities in the North, has many different grades together in one class and all different levels of learning. She has to be able to keep all different levels interested.

"There's so (many) things and activities you can do with kids to take them, to make it fun (to be) involved but at the same time to be learning our language," Dillon said, smiling from ear to ear.

When Dillon thinks about the next 10 to 20 years, she hopes traditions begin to spread, helping people to regain the languages of the North.

"Hopefully they could be speaking more of their language," she said, "that could be so awesome to get their language back."

Memogana adds, simply, that she wants to see these kids grow up "with good jobs, good education and their language."

The two women laughed and headed off to home as they prepared to embark on their second day out on the land.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.