NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The territory's new languages commissioner says it was her father who made sure she didn't lose her language growing up.

Snookie Catholique was appointed NWT languages commissioner in December 2013. - photo courtesy of Snookie Catholique

Snookie Catholique was born in Lutsel K'e and attended Breynat Hall residential school in Fort Smith.

She said during visits home each summer, her father continued to speak to his children in their own language.

"He refused to speak to us in English, so he spoke Chipewyan to us," she said. "In a way, we helped him learn how to speak English and then he made sure that we continued on understanding Chipewyan. So through all my years, it's in there."

While Catholique said she understood the language when it was being spoken to her, she sometimes struggled to find the words when it was her turn to speak.

"I understand it fully, but it took some time to actually verbalize it," she said.

She worked to learn how to read and write Chipewyan in roman orthography and Catholique spent about two years working as an interpreter-translator for the Northwest Territories languages bureau in the 1980s.

She spent the past 23 years working as a CBC journalist in the NWT before being appointed languages commissioner in December.

She said now she's ready to dedicate herself full time to protecting and promoting the territory's languages, which she said includes helping people understand her responsibilities as commissioner.

"I think it's still unclear to many of the people out there, the public, what my role is," she said.

Her job includes making sure the NWT's Official Languages Act is being enforced, as well as investigating complaints and trying to find solutions, she said.

"Usually a lot of this stuff will be resolved in-house, but if it doesn't, it comes up the ladder to me," she said. "It's my job to look into it and make sure that doesn't happen again."

Catholique said she believes communication is key to identifying areas needing improvement.

She said she hopes to make the commission's website more interactive and set up a Facebook page where people could post questions and feedback. Catholique said engaging youth is another of her goals.

She said in many communities, the language barrier between elders and youth is creating a huge generation gap. She said she wants to hear from youth about ways to better promote language in their communities.

"Maybe if we hear it from the young people's perspective and hear what it is we are doing wrong and what needs to be done," she said.

Catholique said she hopes to start visiting communities this summer to introduce herself and hear any concerns.

In the meantime, Catholique said she is keeping busy transferring her office from Inuvik to Yellowknife and is working on new ways to get the public talking.

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