Editing Gwichʼin language (section)

=== Residential schools and language decline ===
Assimilation efforts through [[Canadian Indian residential school system|residential schools]] played a factor in creating a cultural disruption and a language shift. One of the goals of residential schools was to [[cultural genocide|wipe out indigenous culture]] and [[cultural assimilation|replace it with the European culture]], seen as more conducive to “civilized” society. In the process, indigenous children were [[child displacement|taken away from their families]] and placed in a dedicated school (“[[Cultural assimilation of Native Americans|Indian Schools”]] in the US). 

Indigenous children were often punished for speaking First-Nation languages, leading children to abandon their heritage languages. Residential schools caused major cultural disruption also among the Gwich’in.<ref name="auto">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich'in) |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gwichin |access-date=12 July 2022 |last=McFadyen Clark |first=Annette |date=19 June 2020}}</ref>