Dictionaries and other language resources

Since 1989 the Tåîchô Community Services Agency has been developing materials to support the language and culture programs in our schools. A dictionary project was one of the foundations of this work, and the publication of the first dictionary coincided with the graduation of the first Tåîchô teachers from the Kw’atindee Bino Community Teacher Education program in 1992. We are currently working with staff at the University of Victoria to update and reprint our dictionary, potentially by the fall of 2008. At the same time, we are working on an on-line version which will allow the pronunciation of words to be heard as sound files.

To gain access to our on-line dictionary, click on the following link to a server located at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, and follow the directions: http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca/

Biographies

The Tåîchô Community Serivces Agency is developing a bilingual series of biographies to celebrate the lives of influential Tåîchô people who have had a major impact on our communities. The first series of biographies will be of those men and women whose names have been placed on the buildings in our communities beginning with Monfwi, Chief Jimmy Bruneau, Mary Adele Bishop and Elizabeth Mackenzie. Others will follow shortly.

Click on a name or photo to see their biography:

Dene Games

Dene Games by Darren Wicks

Tåîchô Hand Games by James Robinson (interactive DVD)

Special Projects

Over the years the Tåîchô Government (formerly the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council) and the Tåîchô Community Services Agency have worked together on projects related to discovering, preserving, recreating and celebrating the cultural heritage of our communities. These projects have frequently resulted in publications or resources such as DVD's or CD's that are available from the Agency or the Tåîchô Government. The Chief Jimmy Bruneau School Drummers

Chief Jimmy Bruneau School Drummers

Drumming has been an important part of the music program at the school for many years. In 1993 our Chief Jimmy Bruneau School drummers traveled to Arizona in the United States of America and were asked to give performances at the Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, the White Mountain Native Arts Festival and teh Heard Museum. They were also asked to record a number of songs on a CD published by Canyon Records for their recording series of traditional North American Indian music. This CD is available commercially through Festival Distribution in Vancouver or through the Tåîchô Community Services Agency. Click to hear a selection

Birchbark Canoe ProjectThe Birchbark Canoe Project

In June of 1996 six Tåîchô elders spent two weeks at Russell Lake outside Behchokö in the NWT building a birchbark canoe. This project was captured on video which celebrates the rediscovery of lost skills and demonstrates the sharing of talents and effort that communities required to make a living from the land. The video is available from the Tåîchô Community Services Agency. The BirchBark Canoe Project View sample: Windows Media - High Low | Quicktime - High Low

The Dogrib Caribou Skin Lodge Project

At the beginning of the 20th century, hundreds of caribou skin lodges were in use by the Tåîchô people of Northern Canada. In 1997 the only known example was at a museum in Iowa City. This project was captured on video and is available from the Tåîchô Community. View sample: Windows Media: High Low | Quicktime - High Low

Trails of our Ancestors

This book documents the 1998 Trails of Our Ancestors project along the Whati Trail to Behchokö. The "Trails" projects began in 19xx as a way of reconnecting young people with their elders, and with the traditional ways and trails across the Tåîchô land. With the advent of motorized boats in the late 1950's many traditional trails accessible only by canoe fell into disuse. This annual project is tied to the Annual Gathering of the Tåîchô people which happens each summer in different Tåîchô communities. Large freighter canoes paddled by crews of six-eight people including young people and elders travel the traditional trails from community to the host community of the Gathering.

Originally funded by the Anglican Church of Canada's World Relief and Development Fund, the Dogrib Community Services Board (now the Tåîchô Community Serivces Agency) and the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council (now the Tåîchô Government) it has become an annual event with secure funding from the Tåîchô Government. The Agency developed a course entitled "Trails of Our Ancestors" and students who participate also receive 5 high school credits towards their graduation.

Storybooks for use by our Language & Culture Programs

The following books have been published by the Agency over the years to support the Language and Culture Programs in our schools: