language programs

Native Language: Pathway to Traditions, Self-Identity

Year

Stacey Burns says a transformation has taken place within the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony from something as old as the Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone tribes themselves: their native languages...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Spoonhunter, Tsanavi. "Native Language: Pathway to Traditions, Self-Identity." Indian Country Today Media Network. July 31, 2015. Article. (https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/education/native-education/native-language..., accesses July 31, 2015)

Challenges and Solutions to Keeping the Lakota Language Alive

Producer
Indian Country Today
Year

“There is more to an immersion school than simply bringing in elders and having them teach the children,” said Sunshine Carlow, education manager of Lakȟól'iyapi Wahóȟpi, the Lakota Nest Immersion School on the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Rose, Christina. "Challenges and Solutions to Keeping the Lakota Language Alive." Indian Country Today. March 3, 2015. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/challenges-and-solutions-to-keeping-the-lakota-language-alive, accessed March 22, 2023)

Fluent Osage Speakers are a Priority for Osage Nation

Year

The state of Osage language preservation has reached a critical point and Osage Nation Chief, Geoffrey Standing Bear, just months after his inauguration, is making Osage language immersion a priority. The Chief’s plans include the continued collaboration of the Osage Nation Language Program with Dhegiha speakers, other relevant departmental resources, and the language immersion methods and instructors from other Dhegiha nations...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

HorseChief-Hamilton, Geneva. "Fluent Osage Speakers are a Priority for Osage Nation." Indian Country Today Media Network. March 2, 2015. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/fluent-osage-speakers-are-a-priority-for-osage-nation, accessed May 5, 2023)

Teaching the Whole Child: Language Immersion and Student Achievement

Producer
Indian Country Today
Year

As Congress considers two bills to support Native American language immersion, including the Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act, it is time to take stock. What does research say about the impact of Native-language immersion on Native students’ academic achievement? We now have 30 years–more than a generation–of data on Native-language immersion in the U.S. and beyond...

Resource Type
Citation

McCarty, Teresa L. "Teaching the Whole Child: Language Immersion and Student Achievement." Indian Country Today Media Network. September 1, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/teaching-the-whole-child-language-immersion-and-student-achievement, accessed February 12, 2024)

Sleeping Language Waking Up Thanks to Wampanoag Reclamation Project

Producer
Indian Country Today
Year

It’s been more than 300 years since Wampanoag was the primary spoken language in Cape Cod. But, if Wampanoag tribal members keep their current pace, that may not be true for much longer.

Tribal members have been signing up for classes with the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project while families and students have been attending summer language camps. Now plans are underway for the Wampanoag Language Public Charter School, expected to open in August 2015 to serve kindergarten through third grade...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Rose, Christina. "Sleeping Language Waking Up Thanks to Wampanoag Reclamation Project." Indian Country Today Media Network. February 25, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/sleeping-language-waking-up-thanks-to-wampanoag-reclamation-project, accessed November 13, 2023)

Comanche Nation College Tries to Rescue a Lost Tribal Language

Producer
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Year

A two-year tribal college in Lawton, Okla., is using technology to reinvigorate the Comanche language before it dies out. Two faculty members from Comanche Nation College and Texas Tech University worked with tribal elders to create a digital archive of what's left of the language. Only about 25 people nationwide speak Comanche, down from about 15,000 in the late 1800s, they estimate.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Mangan, Katherine. "Comanche Nation College Tries to Rescue a Lost Tribal Language." The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 9, 2013. Article. (http://www.chronicle.com/article/Comanche-Nation-College-Tries/139631/, accessed March 29, 2023)

Harbor Springs restaurant becomes first to embrace Odawa tribal language

Year

Aanii Biindigen. Miigwech baamaapii. Hello, come in. Thank you, until later.

Those traditional greetings in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, were lettered on the front door Tuesday at Out to Lunch, a breakfast and lunch restaurant on State Street in Harbor Springs, embracing the language of the people who first lived in Northern Michigan.

The move is one Odawa tribal members hope the local community in and around Harbor Springs -- where the tribe is based -- will potentially begin a movement to embrace its local Native American heritage...

Resource Type
Citation

Hubbard, Brandon. "Harbor Springs restaurant becomes first to embrace Odawa tribal language." Petoskey News. June 12, 2013. Article. (http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/featured/pnr-harbor-springs-restaurant-..., accessed May 31, 2023)

Speaking a culture: How efforts to revitalize a language can have a ripple effect

Author
Producer
News-Review
Year

Carla Osawamick stands in front of a class of students with a wide range of life experiences, from one still in high school to a great-grandmother.

The students all have one thing in common: they are dedicated to learning and speaking Anishinaabemowin, the language spoken by many Native Americans in the Great Lakes region, including the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

Osawamick is teaching an intermediate language class at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, where two sections of beginning and two sections of intermediate courses in the language are offered.

Resource Type
Citation

Coe, Aebra. "Speaking a culture: How efforts to revitalize a language can have a ripple effect." Petoskey News. June 12, 2013. Article. (https://www.petoskeynews.com/speaking-a-culture-how-efforts-to-revitalize-a-language, accessed November 30, 2023)

Who Speaks Wukchumni?

Producer
The New York Times
Year

Throughout the United States, many Native American languages are struggling to survive. According to Unesco, more than 130 of these languages are currently at risk, with 74 languages considered “critically endangered.” These languages preserve priceless cultural heritage, and some hold unexpected value – nuances in these languages convey unparalleled knowledge of the natural world. Many of these at-risk languages are found in my home state of California. Now for some, only a few fluent speakers remain.

This Op-Doc tells the story of Marie Wilcox, the last fluent speaker of the Wukchumni language, and the dictionary she has created. I met her through the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, an organization that encourages the revival of languages like Wukchumni. Through training and mentorship, it has supported Ms. Wilcox’s work for several years. Ms. Wilcox’s tribe, the Wukchumni, is not recognized by the federal government. It is part of the broader Yokuts tribal group native to Central California. Before European contact, as many as 50,000 Yokuts lived in the region, but those numbers have steadily diminished. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 200 Wukchumni remain...

Native Nations
Citation

Vaughan-Lee, Emmanuel. "Who Speaks Wukchumni?" The New York Times. August 18, 2014. Video. (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/opinion/who-speaks-wukchumni.html?_r=1, accessed August 21, 2014)

Huge Push to Save Endangered Seneca Language

Producer
WGR-TV
Year

The Seneca Nation of Indians have a deep rooted history in Western New York. Stories of their ancestors are here and their culture from ceremonies to traditions is still very much alive. But the language, a huge part of their culture, is dying. That's why there is a big push to preserve the language.

The keepers of the western door are connected to the land, its where their ancestors lived not long ago. That way of life is being preserved starting at a young age. At this Faithkeepers school in Salamanca, kids are learning about Seneca tradition, culture and Seneca language through activities...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

WGR-TV. "Huge Push to Save Endangered Seneca Language." WGR-TV. Buffalo, New York. August 14, 2014. Video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZtAYPxklWQ, accessed July 18, 2023)