Daniel Tlen, a linguist and speaker of the Kluane dialect, is a consultant and my main mentor for my work on Southern Tutchone. A graduate of the University of Victoria, Dan has worked extensively on Southern Tutchone and other Dene languages, as well as gaining insight from his years of teaching.

Nakhela “Hazel” Bunbury, an elder and speaker of the Lake Laberge dialect, also acts as a consultant in my work. Nakhela’s long career as a teacher and her knowledge of traditional cultural practices provide another point of view in my research.

My research is funded through a Language Legacies grant from the Endangered Language Fund. My fieldwork is additionally supported by the Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative (ISCEI) and the Faculty of Arts at McGill University.

My most recent fieldwork took place in summer 2022 in Whitehorse, Yukon. Over the course of two weeks, I conducted elicitation and other linguistic fieldwork with my consultants. I also led demonstrations of elicitation technique for language trainees at the Yukon Native Language Centre, with the participation of Dan Tlen and James Crippen.