Yukon Native Language Centre Information

YNLC staff and Elders have developed and now teach the Certificate (3-year) and follow-up Diploma (2-year) Courses for Native Language Instructors at Yukon College. YNLC also works closely with the University of Alaska Fairbanks in implementing a jointly established Associate of Applied Science Degree Program in Native Language Education. The graduates and students currently enrolled in these programs serve as teachers in many communities of the Yukon, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Alaska. YNLC develops teaching and learning materials for all the Yukon aboriginal languages. These include a curriculum guide; language lesson booklets and audio CDs / tapes, and interactive computer CDs; dictionaries and reference materials; story booklets; and games and teaching aids. YNLC continues to expand its website to include more screen and audio materials. YNLC works with First Nations Elders to document Yukon native traditions, oral history, personal names, and place names. YNLC also assists First Nations and other organizations with translations, transcriptions, and signage. YNLC provides information and materials on Yukon languages to First Nations, government and educational organizations, researchers, media outlets, and to the many interested individuals who regularly visit and phone the Centre. YNLC also plays an important role as a regional and international Centre. It organized and co-sponsored the first Canadian-Alaskan Institute for Northern Native Languages held in the summer of 1988 which attracted students from the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon. In recent years YNLC has worked closely with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to offer a joint degree in Native Language Education. YNLC also maintains relationships with such organizations as the Gwich'in Cultural and Social Institute (Tsiigehtchic, NWT), the Tanana Chiefs Conference (Fairbanks, Alaska), the Mount Sanford Tribal Consortium (Chistochina, Alaska), the Tok Branch of Interior Campus, UAF (Tok, Alaska), and with individual school districts in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska. Guiding Principles