New stop signs in Dawson City, Yukon feature language of Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation

Twenty-five new stop signs that feature both the English and Hän languages have gone up around Dawson City, Yukon.

The signs are the result of a joint effort between the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation and the City of Dawson to increase the visibility of the First Nation's language in town.

Darren Taylor, Hähkè (chief) of the First Nation said the Hän language is becoming more predominant in Dawson City and this is just another step toward strengthening the relationship between local governments.

"We've got a lot of Hän names on our admin buildings," he said. "Our cultural centre, daycare, the Robert Service School, and it wouldn't happen without the partnership of the municipality."

The new stop signs have replaced existing signs along Front Street, the C-4 subdivision, and a few around the Robert Service School.

Taylor said that while everyone will benefit from seeing these signs, he hopes it will particularly resonate with the youth.

"Language is an important part of our culture," he said. "It's the core identity of who we are as a people. It's reflective of our environment. Our natural world."

"Language is often times overlooked in regards to who people actually are and how significant it is to their culture. This is just the first step at revitalizing our language throughout the community," Taylor said.

The new stop signs also have Taylor thinking about what it would look like to change some of the city's street names.

"Recognize key community people that have resided in this community for hundreds of years.  I just think it's a good gesture to not to forget who the people were that actually built this community."

Taylor said there's still a long way to go before that happens. Many groups and people, including the city and the local chamber of commerce, would need to be a part of the project to ensure it's done properly and respectfully for everyone, he added.

For now, Taylor said he's happy enough to stop at any of the new signs in town, and to see his traditional language telling him to ho'ìnje' before continuing on to wherever he's going.

Step toward reconciliation

The town's mayor Bill Kendrick said the new signs are welcome additions to the community.

He said they ordered 25 new signs to start, but as other stop signs age or get damaged, they will be replaced with the new bilingual signs.

Kendrick, like Taylor, said this is another example of how local governments can not only work together but thrive together under one jurisdiction.

"As governments, recognizing we do different things, we overlap," he said. "We've had service agreements for many years with Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in. For new developments there's collaboration. I think the relationship between the city of Dawson and the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in is pretty good. It's a small act of reconciliation."