From the beginning, my grandfather was fully embraced by my grandmother’s community. In those days, it was common for people to be welcomed into other communities to continue family lines. Languages were deliberately blended to keep lineages strong. Dene people seeking to start families would look for partners who spoke different dialects, as this indicated they were not related.

Had my grandmother moved to my grandfather’s community, she would have had to learn his language. That was the way it was. You spoke the language of the place you lived. That was one way our languages survived.

My grandfather was highly respected in my grandmother’s community because he took the time to learn her language. In his later years, he was often asked to lead opening and closing ceremonies at community gatherings. Throughout their lives, my grandparents spoke only Dene. Together, they had 14 children. All of their children spoke Dene Zhatıé fluently. 

We are shaped by the environments we grow up in. Our surroundings influence the languages we speak. That is why it is important to speak our Indigenous languages often. Our Dene languages are still at risk, even with language programs, because we are not fully immersed. Language learning needs to be intensive. Our languages should not be optional or secondary to English.

My grandparents were together for more than half a lifetime. They lived off the land in a log house that still stands today. They lived the life they chose — rich in language, rich in culture, rich in family and rich in love.

Discovery Language is supported by the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages.