Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) and Yukon Native Language Centre – marked National Aboriginal Language Day by announcing the launch of a significant collection of digital language resources produced as part of a multi-year Yukon First Nations languages documentation and preservation initiative.

The initiative supported Yukon First Nations in building language documentation capacity through training and skills development in the use of technology to create digital language recordings and implement best practices in language documentation. Yukon First Nations that participated were supported to create, annotate and preserve high-quality digital video recordings of Elders speaking Yukon First Nation languages.
The two-year project facilitated the creation and sharing of documentation of approximately 1,200 minutes of
footage resulting in a library of 79 newly-released videos of Yukon First Nation language content. The library of
language videos has been made publicly available on YNLC’s website and YouTube channel in accord with the YNLC principle of accessibility of Yukon First Nations language learning resources.

The library of new digital resources will be instrumental in promoting language learning, and will contribute to the
creation of language learning resources for years to come. In addition, the videos carry immeasurable cultural
knowledge including legends and stories.