Yukon Native Language Centre (YNLC)

About

The Yukon Native Language Centre is a training and research facility which provides a range of linguistic and educational services to Yukon First Nations and to the general public. It is located in the Commons wing of Yukon College, Ayamdigut Campus, Whitehorse, Canada. The Centre is administered by the Council of Yukon First Nations with funds provided by the Government of Yukon. (Excerpt from the YNLC Website)

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• The Yukon Native Language Centre promotes an awareness of the richness and beauty of Yukon First Nations Languages and an appreciation of the fundamental role they play in the transmission of culture and values from one generation to another.

• The Yukon Native Language Centre recognizes and relies upon the essential contributions made by Elders and Tradition Bearers in all phases of cultural education. Elders in each language group provide vision, wisdom, and guidance which inform and direct all our activities.

• The Yukon Native Language Centre works in partnership with First Nations communities and individuals to provide training, research, and program support which will assist them in implementing their self-determined goals for preserving and enhancing their ancestral languages.

• The Yukon Native Language Centre recognizes the intrinsic positive value of First Nations Languages in contemporary education for both native and non-native students at all levels, from pre-school to adult education.

• The Yukon Native Language Centre delivers services in an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration, since sharing is the basis for cultural survival.

  OUR ELDERS

  Elders from the Yukon and neighbouring areas have contributed in many ways to the work of the Yukon Native Language Centre. For example, they provide information which aids in language documentation, they make recordings from which teaching materials are developed, and they offer guidance in training sessions. (Excerpt from the YNLC Website)