The publication of a preliminary edition of the Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì) Dictionary in 1992 was an important event for the Dogrib Divisional Board of Education. The dictionary coincided with the graduation of the first teachers from the Kw’atindee Bino Community Teacher Education Program in Rae-Edzo and was intended as an integral part of the foundation upon which we could build the language and cultural programming in our schools. The distribution of the dictionary kindled an interest in many people in their language which supported the progress of literacy courses in our communities and the writing of Dogrib in our schools.
We hope that this enlarged and improved edition of the dictionary will do more of the same. As each year there are fewer elders who speak of the old ways in the old language, it becomes extremely important to document their world view before it is gone altogether. The dictionary is one tool to achieve this end. In the future, it will serve young people by giving them a glimpse into the world of their ancestors and, we can pray that it will continue to be the record of a living language.
