Sur le bout de la langue

"AwA'ahdah", "iishuh", "ilah qe'xleh". These forgotten words come from the other side of the world, and have lost almost all of their meaning, even to their own people. In Alaska, the Eyak language "died" in 2008 when the last speaker, Marie Smith Jones, passed away. But is there life after death? The Eyak people believe so. Marie had a dream before she died. She said someone will come from far away to help them. Two years later, Guillaume Leduey, a 21-year-old Frenchman, set foot in Alaska, on the lands of the people whose language he had learned by himself, alone, in France. For decades, native people were oppressed by white men domination, assimilation policies and violence. This lead to fear, shame and soon, native languages were forgotten. Today, the Eyak people want to take back what is theirs, including their languages, and proudly claim who they are, to rekindle a culture that was deeply buried in their memories, so they can start to reconnect with their roots. Standing on their side is Guillaume and his improbable yet priceless knowledge.