Doyon Foundation extends our deep gratitude to the Rasmuson Foundation, which recently awarded a $24,600 grant to help fund our Molly of Denali dubbing project. In cooperation with WGBH Boston, we are working to translate, rehearse and record four stories from the Molly of Denali PBS TV series in Denaakk’e and Gwich’in languages.
The Rasmuson Foundation grant will fund production of the two episodes in Denaakk’e: Name Game and Have Canoe Will Paddle. The Doyon Foundation board of directors previously approved funding to produce the two Gwich’in episodes: Grandpa’s Drum and King Run.
The Denaakk’e stories were translated by Lorraine David and Alberta Vent, and Mary Fields and Hishinlai’ Peter translated the Gwich’in stories. The stories will be recorded with local voice actors, who were selected through an open audition process.
When completed, the dubbed episodes will air on local Alaska public television channels, and be available for use in educational settings, such as classrooms in the Yukon Koyukuk and Yukon Flats school districts.
The Molly of Denali project is another effort of our language revitalization program, which is working to ensure that the endangered Native languages of the Doyon region survive and thrive for future generations.
“Molly of Denali is an excellent vehicle for language learning and revitalization, as young audiences are naturally busy absorbing and mastering language skills,” said Allan Hayton, language revitalization program director. “We hope this project will inspire young people to learn and speak Denaakk’e and Gwich’in languages, as well as other Indigenous languages of the Doyon region and beyond.”
For more information on Molly of Denali and other language revitalization projects, visit doyonfoundation.com/language.