First Words: Diga speaks Tlicho

First Wordsis a weeklypodcastfocused on Indigenous languages. Each week, we welcome a new guest into the hosting chair toteach us somewords in their language.

When Diga was nine, he moved from Behchoko, N.W.T. down to southern Alberta for school. He spoke only Tlicho an and all-English school was hard for him to adjust to.

"For the first year, the only thing I'd learned is how to fight," Diga said, laughing.

Diga, who is the lead singer in N.W.T.-based rock band Digawolf, has a strong connection to his language one that he weaves throughout his music.

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"Sometimes, it's easier to write a song in Tlicho because it just flows a lot better and the story is more real," he said.

When he performs down south, Diga will make a setlist of mostly English songs on it. But as he gets closer to the show, he finds himself switching to more songs he sings in Tlicho.

He says he has confidence the crowd will enjoy the show regardless of the language he sings in.

"You can trust the people with your language, even though they don't understand," he said.

His connection to the language continues throughout his life, naming his two children after the Tlicho words that mean sunshine and dreamer.

"I just believe that [my son] is going to be a dreamer," Diga said. "And [my daughter] is a sunshine."