N.W.T. to look into changing official name of Sahtu language

The N.W.T. government will consider changing the name of the Sahtu language in the Official Languages Act, but the process will require consensus from the communities.

At its annual general meeting in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., in late September, the Sahtu Secretariat Inc. (SSI) — the organization responsible for the Sahtu land claim — voted in favour of recommending that the old term, North Slavey, no longer be used. SSI is recommending that instead the language be called Dene Kǝdǝ́.

In an email, Briony Grabke, a spokesperson for the N.W.T.'s Department of Education, Culture and Employment, wrote that a letter from SSI will be considered as official confirmation for making the change in future rounds of amendments to the act.

But in order for the name of the language to be changed in N.W.T. legislation, it "would require a legislative review and consensus amongst language communities on the new term."

This requires all the typical parts of establishing new or amending existing legislation, Grabke wrote, including drafting and seeking approval for a legislative proposal.

Cabinet, the standing committee, and the public need to consider the draft bill. It can then be moved through the Legislative Assembly.

Grabke wrote that in spring 2023, when the territorial government last amended the Official Languages Act, there wasn't consensus among the language communities.

Grabke wrote that despite the legislation not officially being changed, the territorial government has adopted a practice of using the commonly-accepted names publicly, such as Dene Kǝdǝ́.

The move to change the official term for the language is just the latest example of Indigenous organizations and governments decolonizing names.

Dene Kǝdǝ́ is the primary language spoken in the N.W.T.'s Sahtu region, which includes Colville Lake, Délı̨nę, Norman Wells, Tulita and Fort Good Hope.