Princess Daazhraii Johnson and the Generation Reclaiming Gwich'in

Imagine learning a language that is spoken by only a few hundred people—an Indigenous language that belongs to a people and a land that have been in relationship with each other for countless generations. This is the heart of our episode about Gwich’in language revitalization in the Boreal. 

Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neets'aii Gwich'in) is an Indigenous TV and film producer on a patient journey of learning, reclaiming, and revitalizing Gwich’in. The language connects her to the land and to the people who came before her. “Our generation is really making the effort to use the language, and express ourselves in the language, and it's really powerful,” she explains. 
 
Princess and her dear friend Alishia Carlson (also Neets'aii Gwich'in) talk with language journalist Kavita Pillay about the struggles of learning Gwich’in, and the joy with which they approach the effort, especially in relation to the language learning of children. Princess is inspiring a whole new generation to be curious about Indigenous languages through her work as a screenwriter on the Peabody award-winning PBS Kids series Molly of Denali. Also in this episode: a celebration of caribou. 

Content note: The episode touches on the violence of residential schools on Turtle Island and how they contributed to today’s language crisis. 

Learn more: 

• Dinjii Vadzaih Dhidlit: The Man Who Became a Caribou (bilingual book) 
• "Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr’eedaa (We Will Walk the Trail of our Ancestors)" (short film by Princess and Alishia, part of Reciprocity Project) 
• Seedcast Sonic Journey episode featuring “Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr’eedaa (We Will Walk the Trail of our Ancestors)” 
• Molly of Denali (PBS) 
• Subtitle, a podcast co-hosted by Kavita Pillay and Patrick Cox 

This episode won a 2022 Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA, formerly Native American Journalists Association) award for Best Radio/Podcast Coverage of Native America, Second Place. 

Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer: Kavita Pillay. Story Editor: Jenny Asarnow. Special thanks to Michelle Hurtubise and Patrick Cox. 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

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