Igniting the Fire of Language

Ryan Dickie, creator of Dene Collective has been filming the hand games tournaments since 2017 and has began creating a series of videos that highlight the importance of traditional men's hand games and teachings of song, language, ceremony that are incorporated into the hand games.

The Reigniting the Fire project would be to create curriculum for high schools, sharing traditional practices and ways, learning the songs, drumming, language through hand games.  The program would be taught throughout the year and then the program would host a inter school hand games tournament with schools from northern BC, NWT, Yukon and Alberta

Teaching young men and providing them with support on their learning journey will provide life long skills to carry them into adulthood, being humble, good providers, respectful, honest and walk with integrity throughout their life.

Curtis Dickie has been learning Dene Language, teachings and participating in traditional practices and ways for many years.  He will be involved in the research, curriculum development and be the facilator in the training.

The curriculum would be digitized, available in many formats shared widely to many schools, communities. 

The development of language used in ceremony, songs, games will be recorded, as the language needs to be heard in order to get the correct pronunciations

The target population would be high school aged youth who are willing to learn language through the hand games.  Many young men may have a family that hasn't been involved in practices and ways, and may have lost the connection to traditional games.  Games not only provide social connection, but Curtis and Ryan and connected with youth who have had difficult lives and it was the connection to the group that encouraged them to walk a different path.

Curtis and Ryan have worked with Fort Nelson First Nation, Fort Liard, Prophet River, Doig River, Betchako FN, Deline FN and many nations in NWT, Yukon and Northern BC

They are supported by elders in other communities who carry the traditional practices, ways, songs, drumming styles, teachings that are incorporated in traditional hand games.

As mentioned youth who may be experiencing difficulties, or no strong male figures in their life, are supported and encouraged by both Curtis and Ryan.  Both would love to have a greater impact in Nations where they knowledge supports and contributes to the well being of young men, youth and communities.

We are located in Fort Nelson which is centrally located in the Northern region.  Curtis & Ryan have attended many tradtional men's handgames tournaments in many communities, bringing many youth from Fort Nelson or Fort Liard to the tournaments.

They are networking and creating lasting relationships with elders, knowledge keepers and drummers from other communities.  Hand games is a skill that is used in language, song, ceremony, cultural practices and ways and encouraging youth to be involved in a traditional way of life.  Hopefully learning through hand games, youth will be inspired to learn more language and ways of being.

There are many barriers to accessing funds that support the development of language that is not just as learning from A-Z but in a way that makes language practices and ways fun.  

The level of comfort in a workshop on drumming is higher, as language is incorporated and the words learned are gradual, incorporated in songs and teachings.

We need to development the program/curriculum/language, teachings but with limited access to funds and technology it has created a barrier.

Ryan Dickie was raised in Fort Nelson, he is a self taught videographer, photographer, researcher and has completed many video projects.  Including the Dene Collective, Muskwa Kechika video, many videos for the Fort Nelson First Nation, Doig River.  His fulltime self employment is with Winter Hawk Holdings in Fort Nelson.

From working in the oil & gas industry he is well known in the North and has many connections to Northern communties.

Young learners are adapting to technological advances in society.  Having a digitized way of learning especially when the program is limited to one or two weeks onsite.  

Students can sign into the digitized lesson, continue to learn and prepare for the year end tournament.  

Remote learning and lesson planning, listening to the sounds, hearing the beat of the drums, watching video's of hand games, building on the entire hand games experience.  

We are hoping that this will become annual curriculum for Dene students or high school students that want to learn hand games  As more students are involved, they will become teachers, mentors and increase the participation in the hand games  every year.

Being involved in the traditional teaches provides youth with skills, teachings that they may not have at home, if they come from single parent families, where the male influence maybe lacking?  

Raising youth, especially males to be respectful, truthful, honest have integrity all all dene teachings that are part of hand games.

success is achieved with the number of schools that participate and the number of youth who take the training.  

We would like to document the journey over four years and host a large gathering of youth in Fort Nelson to showcase and highlight success stories from youth.

All work that we do, will be freely shared with any school, organization that would like to access the work.

In a perfect society, our young men would be learning from their fathers, grandfathers, uncles traditional practices and ways.  Hunting, trapping, fishing, providing for their families - this has been lost due to many factors, residential school being one of them.  

Many men that were affected by residential school did not have the opportunity to learn from male figures in their lives so many youth are missing the teachings.

There is alot of youth in the North who are incorporating teachings and this would support the work to achieve balance, health and wellness for youth.  Keeping them grounded and prepared for their adult journey.

If the program is successful - I can see further development of the language program, having an app would be helpful in the teaching of language and songs

Recording and digitizing songs from other Nations and documenting as a digital record, it is a big project but to have a digital library of Dene songs, language, stories, teachings would be amazing.

We are a group that believes strongly in the preservation of traditional practices and ways, indigenous knowledge and capturing dene practices and ways and sharing the information widely.

We are open to working with all people who wish to participate and have worked with many diverse groups in the past.

Hand Games has been traditionally a men's skill, but we have had many successful events that involve youth, both girls and boys, women and men, indigenous and non indigenous.

The curriculum development would be shared with schools, Nations, Tribal associations, universities or other public sectors that wish to learn, promote or access traditional teachings.

The work would have lasting impacts and ensure the traditional teachings are not lost and are carried forward seven generations.

We will be applying for funds from organizations that support the work of language, traditional teachings, skills or knowledge.  Organizations like the First Peoples Cultural Foundation, Heritage Canada, Indigenous Services Canada or Private or public funding solutions.

All funds to date have been raised through fund raising activities.  This is the first major project of the FNHGS and we are building the impact reports, marketing material, business plan to ensure we understand the risks, benefits and costs.