Pictured: Shelden Eggum, Corporate Communications Coordinator Intern presents a $200 gift card to Joyce Blackhawk, the lucky winner of the Indigenous Language Challenge.

Being able to recognize words in traditional languages has earned Joyce Blackhawk a great prize.

Blackhawk left Gibraltar House with a $200 gift card to any Northern, NorthMart, Value Lots or Solo store after being drawn the winner of The North West Company's Indigenous Language Challenge.

The Indigenous Language Challenge took place on June 22, at Indigenous Day Live located at the Forks in Winnipeg, MB. The challenge was for participants to translate words from various Indigenous languages into English. If two or more of the words were correctly translated, participants were entered in a draw for a chance to win the gift card.

The challenge was designed to help preserve Indigenous languages throughout Canada. The North West Company has designed initiatives such as our Indigenous Shelf Label program to help prevent these languages from being lost in time, as well as provide more convenient shopping for our customers.

"Being a residential school survivor, I was not given the choice to keep my language. It was taken from me," said Joyce. "However, while I did not have a choice, today our young generation do[es], and [they] will be carriers of keeping our language alive."