The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) announced that high school diplomas will soon be issued in all NWT official languages.
Starting from the academic year 2022-2023, all high school diplomas issued will be trilingual: English, French, and the Indigenous language of the graduating student’s choosing. The Northwest Territories seal is also in all 11 official languages.
The Department of Education, Culture, and Employment will only re-issue trilingual diplomas distributed after June 2024. However, former students may request a trilingual diploma through the Student Records office.
The GNWT is committed to preserving, promoting, and enhancing Indigenous languages. By including these languages on high school diplomas, GNWT is making an effort to bring the territory’s official into everyday life.
This initiative is also in the spirit of reconciliation, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
Northwest Territories schools will share more information with families about the trilingual diplomas and ask June 2024 graduates to select the Indigenous language they wish to feature on their diploma. This selection process will be part of the graduation application, and if a student is unsure which Indigenous language to select, they will be asked to choose from an Indigenous language of their region.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is also working to update other departmental certificates and awards to be trilingual.
