September 30, 2025 – Mayo, Yukon
The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND) Carleton University, and the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages (OCIL) have partnered on an innovative initiative designed to preserve and celebrate the cultural heritage of FNNND and the Northern Tutchone language through advanced technological approaches.
Kwän Dék’án’ Do (Northern Tutchone for ‘To Keep The Fire Burning’), centres around two key components. The first is an immersive and interactive experience supported by cutting-edge holopresence and virtual reality. FNNND Elders are recorded sharing oral histories, traditional crafts and knowledge, and storytelling, in addition to bringing a rich and intimate insight into the Northern Tutchone language. For a Nation with less than a dozen fluent language speakers left, this life-like preservation of Elders’ stories and the language they hold is invaluable. In a powerful extension of its linguistic and cultural preservation mission, Kwän Dék’án’ Do will also include a digital library of 3D scanned community belongings, gathering items from both local collections and institutions across Canada into a single, accessible virtual space for community members. This unified digital archive will reconnect dispersed cultural items with the community, offering an unprecedented opportunity for learning, storytelling, and cultural continuity.
The second key component is the construction of a Northern Tutchone language digital model, supported by artificial intelligence, in the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun dialect. This modelling work will support not only language preservation for current and future language learners, but will support the creation of new Northern Tutchone vocabulary. With less than a dozen language holders left, preserving Northern Tutchone is vital to preserving Traditional Knowledge, worldviews, and self-determination. The goal is to enable language learners to engage in AI-powered conversations in Northern Tutchone, and conduct their language learning journey informed by culturally relevant education methodologies.
Together, these two components will be the foundation for a series of cultural and educational applications available across multiple platforms.
« Our Northern Tutchone language has not died, but with less than a dozen language holders left with us, the embers of our language require tending. And like our Elders instructed, we are working to reignite our language through many sources. We are looking around our environment and are finding support in not just our stories, our cultural items, our people’s determination, but in technology too. »
“Importantly, the entire system will be open-source and freely available for other Indigenous communities to adapt to their own linguistic and cultural needs. Blending ancestral knowledge with cutting-edge technology, the goal of Kwän dék’án’ do is to spark a scalable movement for Indigenous language and cultural revitalization across Canada (and beyond).”
“Language carries our histories, our teachings, and our ways of knowing the world. The Commission is dedicated to supporting innovative language revitalization measures and to amplifying the voices of language champions and advocates on the ground. Kwän Dék’án’ Do reflects the strength of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun in carrying forward the words, stories, and knowledge of their Elders. The Commission commends the efforts of this community-led vision, which demonstrates how cultural teachings and innovation can come together to ensure the fire of the Dän k’í language (Northern Tutchone) continues to burn brightly for generations to come.”
Rooted in community leadership and guided by traditional knowledge, Kwän Dék’án’ Do blends innovation with cultural stewardship. This three-year initiative is informed by data sovereignty principles, where the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun retains the intellectual and copyright authority of the work and controls access to what at times is Sacred Knowledge. The data shared to train the AI language model will not be accessible or used without the consent of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun. It is only through this partnership built upon trust, respect, and information ownership that this work is possible.
After completion of this project which involves business, information technology, and linguistic researchers from Carlton University, the intention will be to release the project tools and framework so that it may be accessibly adapted by Indigenous communities across the world who are looking to incorporate these cutting-edge digital tools into their own language reignition work.
FNNND Elders named the initiative, Kwän Dék’án’ Do, which in Northern Tutchone means “to keep the fire burning”. The Elders shared, « Language is like making a fire. Gather all the materials to learn, keep adding into the language to keep it strong engaging and enjoyable. » The Northern Tuchone language has not been extinguished, but its embers require tending. This work is not intended to be a replacement for learning language on the land and with Elders, but instead aims to provide a complementary and accessible avenue of language apprenticeship. Keeping a fire burning requires many different kinds of materials working together. In a chapter of resiliency and reclamation of language and culture, Kwän Dék’án’ Do is so much more than a name. It is a call to action. By reigniting the flames of our language, we are building a fire for our people to gather around. It holds warmth, it holds community, it’s a tool to feed us and a space to heal. Within the flames of our language is our worldview and our identity. And when that fire is reignited, it also gives us light to guide us into a self-determined future.
For more information or for an interview request, please contact:
Sarah Frey
First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun
sarah.frey@nndfn.com
867-689-8514
Emily Mantha
Carleton University
comms@sprott.carleton.ca
Whitney Knott
Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages
whitney.knott@ocil-ila.ca
