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</div></div></div></div><h2 class="gmail-deck">'You're never too old if you want to continue what you're doing for yourself,' says Therese Mantla</h2><div class="gmail-byline"><div class="gmail-bylineDetails">CBC News<span class="gmail-bullet"> · </span><time class="gmail-timeStamp" datetime="2018-08-04T12:00:00.002Z">Posted: Aug 04, 2018 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: August 4</time></div></div><div><span class="gmail-imageMedia gmail-leadmedia-story gmail-full"><div class="gmail-placeholder"><div class="gmail-placeholderImage gmail-aspect-56"></div><img alt="" src="https://i.cbc.ca/1.4771968.1533237946!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/therese-mantla-and-daughters.jpeg" class="gmail-loaded gmail-largeImage"></div><span class="gmail-leadimage-caption">Therese
Mantla, top, attended the language program with her daughters, left to
right, Melissa Nitsiza, Catherine Mantla, Mary Adele Mackenzie and
Alestine Wetrade. (Submitted by Melissa Nitsiza)</span></span><div class="gmail-story"><span><div><span><span class="gmail-mediaEmbed"><span class="gmail-cbc-caffeine"><div class="gmail-media" id="gmail-player-1291151939816"><div class="gmail-cbc-caffeine-container" id="gmail-Caffeineplayer-1291151939816" tabindex="1"><div class="gmail-cbc-caffeine-player" id="gmail-CaffeinePlayerplayer-1291151939816">
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<div class="gmail-title">Going back to school 67 years young</div>
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</div></div></span><span class="gmail-media-caption">Listen to the full interview with Therese Mantla on returning to school with her four daughters. 8:10</span></span></span>A woman from Behchoko, N.W.T., is proving that the old adage is true — it's never too late to go back to school.</div><p></p><p>Therese Mantla is 67 years young and just graduated from an Indigenous language program at the University of Alberta.</p><p></p><p>"You're never too old if you want to continue what you're doing for yourself," she told CBC.</p><p>Mantla
said she wanted to take the course because it's important for her to
pass on the Tlicho language to younger generations. In fact, her four
daughters, Melissa Nitsiza, Catherine Mantla, Mary Adele Mackenzie
and Alestine Wetrade also attended the program with her.</p><p></p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/tlicho-language-gap-youth-elders-1.4671405">Tlicho region looks to bridge language gap between youth, elders</a></strong></li><li><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/tlicho-folktale-language-revitalization-1.4581240"><strong>New video game brings Tlicho folktale to life</strong></a></li></ul><p></p><p>"A
lot of kids in my school and in my community, I don't hear them talking
very much in Tlicho Yatii and they know some basic words but they're
not fluent speakers," she said.</p><p>"And a lot of kids they don't know very much about our culture so I like to pass my language around."</p><blockquote class="gmail-pullquote"><span class="gmail-text-items"><span class="gmail-pullquote-quotation">It's never, never too late to go back to university and try to do your best in your education.</span><cite class="gmail-pullquote-source">- Therese Mantla</cite></span></blockquote><p>Mantla and
her daughters attended courses over three weeks in July with the
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute at the
university campus in Edmonton. She graduated with a Community Linguist
Certificate on July 27.</p><p>Students in the program can learn an
Indigenous language or gain expertise in linguistics, endangered
language documentation and revitalization, teaching a second language
and language policy and planning. </p><h2>'Our language is very, very important'</h2><p></p><p>Mantla
tries to speak her language when out in public as much as possible,
like when she goes to the store to buy groceries or goes to the bank.</p><p>"Our
language is very, very important. It's important for me and it's
important for the people in our culture too, that needs to be really
strong among us or we might lose it," she said. </p><p>Mantla noted she met people from across Canada at the program in Edmonton who said they are losing their language.</p><p></p><div><span><span class="gmail-imageMedia gmail-image gmail-full"><div class="gmail-placeholder"><div class="gmail-placeholderImage gmail-aspect-61" style="padding-bottom:61.29%"></div><img alt="" src="https://i.cbc.ca/1.4771947.1533240003!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/original_780/therese-mantla.jpeg" class="gmail-loaded gmail-largeImage"></div><span class="gmail-leadimage-caption">Therese
Mantla, left, graduated with a Community Linguist Certificate from the
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute at the
University of Alberta on July 27. Jordan Lachler, right, is the director
of the institute. (Submitted by Melissa Nitsiza)</span></span></span></div><p></p><p>She said parents play an important role in teaching their children their language.</p><p></p><p>"The
teacher in the kids' life at the young age is their parents and then
once they get their basics, then the teachers and the people within the
community, the people within the community should be helping those young
people to strive for their language."</p><p></p><p>Mantla said her children were a great support</p><p></p><p></p><p>"I
couldn't drive around Edmonton so they took me here and there and we
got what we needed and we settled and we go to school together," she
said. </p><ul><li><strong><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/aboriginal-languages-census-nwt-1.4375141">Use of Aboriginal languages drops in N.W.T., bucking national trend</a></strong></li><li><strong>FEATURE | <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/my-language/">My language, my heart</a></strong></li></ul><p></p><p>Mantla,
and five others who have completed the courses, plan on sharing their
knowledge with youth after school starts this fall. </p><p></p><p>She encourages young people to continue educating themselves as much as possible.</p><p></p><p>"It's never, never too late to go back to university and try to do your best in your education," she said. </p></span>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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