NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

Tags: language, Tłı̨chǫ language, Translation and interpretation

Objective(s): The objectives of this work are threefold 1) Document the life histories of living interpreters for Tlicho people to have in their archive and draw on as they wish 2) To clearly articulate how Indigenous interpreters can best be supported in their role to ensure future generations of interpreters 3) Assemble a history of interpreting in the region that can be used history to inform today’s understandings of language, culture and well-being. The project has a "research-creation" element and includes producing a documentary of Tlicho interpreters' life histories and work.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 6020. The larger research project is a community driven investigation of the role of interpreters and translation in the Tlicho region of the Northwest Territories. The Tli?cho are a self-governing Indigenous Nation in Denendeh (Northwest Territories, Canada) whose territories span a geography from the shores of Tidee` (Great Slave Lake) to hozi`i (the tundra). By the Tli?cho region, we refer to the communities and lands within Mowhì Gogha Dè Ni?i?tlèè: the Tli?cho traditional use area described by Chief Monfwi at the signing of Treaty 11 in 1921, and enshrined in the Tli?cho Land Claim and Self Government Agreement (Tli?cho Agreement) (2003). This area has been lived and traveled by Tli?cho families from Time Immemorial up until the present day. The Etaehti project designed at the request of our community partners, The Department of Culture and Lands Protection of the Tlicho Government. It seeks to answer research questions like: What are the experiences of Tlicho interpreters? How do they explain their job? What is the history of interpreting in the region? What can be learned from that history to inform today’s understandings? How can interpreters be best supported in their role? How can we ensure future generations of interpreters? What are the links between language and culture in contemporary Indigenous communities? How does the act of interpreting/translating mediate the past and create the future? The objectives of this work are threefold 1) Document the life histories of living interpreters for Tlicho people to have in their archive and draw on as they wish 2) To clearly articulate how Indigenous interpreters can best be supported in their role to ensure future generations of interpreters 3) Assemble a history of interpreting in the region that can be used history to inform today’s understandings of language, culture and well-being. The project has a "research-creation" element and includes producing a documentary of Tlicho interpreters' life histories and work. OVERVIEW: We have four main sources of data collection which I describe here as they will be the basis for the research as well as the film (research-creation/ knowledge mobilization). 1) Focus group: We will host a gathering of interpreters in each of the four Tlicho communities (Behchoko`, Gamètì , Wekweètì and Whatì). At the gathering, participants will be invited to reflect on their skills as interpreters. They will be asked to discuss their own training, what helped them most, what they struggled with as they were learning and what qualities they see are essential to a good translator. These discussions will inform future curriculum development for interpreters. 2) Living Timeline and Map: At the gathering of interpreters, we will engage in co-creating what we are calling a living timeline and map to document times and places of interpretation in the region. We have gathered archival materials (photos, interpreters’ curriculum, documents) and various objects related to interpreters’ lives and work (e.g. older model translation earpieces/microphones) and created a timeline that includes key events in the history of the region. We have also begun to identify locations where interpreting has happened (school, hospital, meeting rooms, etc) In each community, we will set up the timeline and and map and invite interpreters to look at the different materials and offer any stories or insights on what they see. We will add to the timeline at each meeting from what we learn. The timeline itself will become a possible exhibition piece and a second public output for display. 3. Interviews with Interpreters: Following each community gathering, we plan to conduct life history interviews with as many working or retired interpreters as possible. Cole and Knowles (2001) describe life history research as "a representation of human experience that draws in viewers or readers to the interpretive process and invites them to make meaning and form judgments based on their own reading of the "text" as it is viewed through the lenses of their own realities” (pp. 8-9). As a method, it lends itself well to a wide variety of dissemination strategies. Interpreters live in all four Tlicho communities (Behchoko`, Gamètì , Wekweètì and Whatì). The research team and two-person film crew will travel to each community to host a gathering with focus groups and timeline/mapping work and then conduct life history interviews in places of the interpreters’ choosing (home, work, on the land). The raw interviews, as well as the finished film, will be the property of the Tlicho government and held in their digital archives in perpetuity for future generations. The interviews will focus on the participants' entry into the profession and a description of their work life. 4) Participant Observation of Interpreters at Work: Participant observation (PO) is a research methodology where the researcher is immersed in the day-to-day activities of the participants. The objective is usually to record conduct under the widest range of possible settings. With their permission, we will observe interpreters in the different venues in which they work. This may also include courses they teach to future generations of interpreters. PROCEDURE: In each community, interpreters will be invited to attend a two-day gathering by phone. The gathering will be in their home community. Over the phone, the nature of the study's activities and methods will be described. Once at the gathering, participants will be invited to consent to the study. They may participate in the activities but decline to participate in the study. In each community, there are roughly 5-8 interpreters. Once consent has been established, the participants will be invited to engage in the timeline activity listed above. The afternoon of the first day will be for focus group work (roughly 1-2 hours). The second day will be devoted to individual interviews scheduled at the participant's convenience (roughly one hour). All of the activities will be filmed (unless a participant has not consented, then they will be edited out). The interviews and focus groups will be led by community partners who are familiar with most interpreters. The project was proposed and developed by the community partners. Two team members are community members. At the gatherings, we will allow the conversations to be directed by interpreters themselves through open-ended activities like the timeline and focus group. For dissemination of results, we have applied for a knowledge mobilization grant to create a documentary (at the request of the community partners). We will post summary findings on an active Facebook page for Tlicho people. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: November 28 - December 31, 2024