N.W.T. town adopts Indigenous-language stop signs; man behind project hopes others follow suit

A Fort Smith, N.W.T., man has big dreams for Canada after his small community successfully swapped outits average stop signs for ones in its own language.

"It makes me feel good inside," said Vance Sanderson, coordinator of the Northwest TerritoriesMtisNation language program. "People come up to me and say it's great to see more language on our stopsignage."

The new signs, written in English, French, Cree and Chipewyan, first popped up in town last fall.

Now, most of the community's stop signs are written in the four languages.

About 36 signs have been installed across town, with only a few more to replace.

• FROM 2017 |Street signs in 4 languages popping up in Fort Smith

Sanderson initiated the stop sign project last year.But it wasn't an easy feat.

It meant consulting with different bands and elders to come up with a final translation people would embrace, despite different dialects, he said.He also had to work with several government departments and policies to make it happen.

There's been a push across the Northwest Territories to revitalize Indigenous languages, with grocery stores getting on board, a newappthat reads books out loud in South Slavey, and social media campaigns encouraging people to speak their traditional tongue.

Canada-wide vision

Sanderson said his project doesn't stop here.

"We're trying to make more signage happen in the N.W.T., if not the country," he said, adding he's hoping the community's recent success can inspire others to take up the project in their own communities.

When asked if he thinks this couldhappen across Canada, Sanderson is optimistic.

"Yes. Yeah, I definitely believe it," he said.

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Sanderson said little changes like this will help influence the younger generation.

"Kids go to school, they see [the signs]every day.People drive to work, drive home," he said."It'll spark a curiosity."

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