#Language Revitalization

[useless-catalanfacts]

I have added English subtitles to this video posted by Helena Sotoca on Instagram. She's from Madrid (Spain) but has been living in Catalonia for 7 years. As she explained in another video, she didn't learn any Catalan the first 3 years she lived here, but then realised how she was imposing Spanish on her group of Catalan friends and how important it was for her friends to keep their language, so she learned it. She is very happy about this decision which has allowed her to integrate more in Catalan society and culture.

In this video, she gives her personal opinion on why languages are not only "a way to understand each other". This sentence is something that we speakers of discriminated languages have to hear all the time (in fact, I was reminded of this video a few days ago because @beautiful-basque-country got that comment). Many times, they'll say: "why are you so annoying about wanting to be able to speak your language? A language is only a tool to understand each other, so if you speak both [the local language and the imperial language], why not just always speak [the imperial language]?".

This mindset is what leads to language extermination. First of all, because it assumes that our languages are less worthy of existence and thus that the language's community is less worthy of existence. If I stop speaking my language, I stop being a part of me. If all my culture stops speaking our language, we stop existing. Language is deeply tied to culture, it's through language that we think and transmit our worldview, and there are many aspects of our culture and our landscape that we can only describe in our language, because only we have the specific words to describe it or because the translation loses nuance, context, and connotations. Remove language, and the rest of the culture will soon follow.

Secondly, it erases the reason why we speak the state's language, which is usually because of imposition through violence, and justifies this imposition because the imperial violence of the past that made the imperial language more widely spoken is now the reason why speakers of the imperial language deserve more rights than those who suffered the imposition.

But besides these more social reasons, I like how Helena explains her personal relation to the language in this video. She also shows us one of the reasons why it's so important to promote discriminated languages to be used in public (and not only hidden at home): when you meet someone speaking a language, you form a bond with them in that language and it can be difficult to change. Speakers of minoritized languages often meet each other in contexts in which they're socially pressured to speak the state's language, and so we find the situation where a group of friends who are all native speakers of the minoritized language will form a bond in the state's language. Thus, slowly, because of the state's language imposition in the public sphere (this is what the "speak the state language if there's even 1 person who might not speak the local language! Languages are only a tool for communication!" mindset pushes us to), the local language gets pushed aside more and more, until we can't have a normal life in it and the state's language imposition becomes absolute, and the local language dies, taking with it its culture, history, and connection to the land and ancestors.

With some work, it can be reversed. I've explained this before but I'll say it again because it's relevant. My parents met in Spanish, because they met in high school and back then speaking Catalan in schools was strictly forbidden and punished. They were speaking in Spanish even when they started dating, but they realised how absurd it was that two native Catalan speakers spoke Spanish to each other and how it was a result of Francoist policy. They decided they don't want Francoism to infiltrate our personal lives, so they made the effort and switched. Maintaining the language of their surroundings, their culture, their land, they became even closer. And, thanks to their decision, when I was born I had the luck of being a native speaker of the language too, because it's what we've always spoken at home. But they did it because they had a political antifascist conscience, many people don't think much about it and just go with what is easier. If they had done that, the language would have lost them and also me. Multiply this for how many people meet each other in settings where social pressure or social rules promote speaking the imperial language instead of the local one that is closer to their hearts.

So no, a language is not only a tool to understand each other. It's also what allows us to speak according to our own understanding of the world (instead of assimilating into another's worldview), it gives meaning to our surroundings (both nature, the names we give to places, etc), every word is an unbroken chain with all of those who came before us, it allows us to understand our ancestors whether that be through their writing or songs they passed down or legends, it's an integral part of the human relations we establish, and so much more. Every language is worth everything. Every language has the right to exist and to thrive.

[no-passaran]

Are you 18-35 years old and an activist or academic from a minoritized or minority language? This might interest you!

(And even if you don't meet the criteria but are interested in participating in another way, the organizers still encourage you to write to them!)

Website link:

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Decades after being punished in a residential school for speaking his own language, Sol Mamakwa will hold the powerful to account at Ontario's legislature in the very same language past governments tried to bury. On Tuesday, Mamakwa, the only First Nation legislator at Queen's Park, will rise in the legislative chamber — with his mother, sister, brothers, friends and elders watching from the gallery — and ask a question in Anishininiimowin, known in English as Oji-Cree. For the first time in its history, the Ontario legislature will allow, interpret and transcribe a language other than English and French. It will also be a birthday gift to his mom, Kezia Mamakwa, who turns 79 that day, and a nod to his late father, Jerry Mamakwa. "Language is nationhood, language is identity, language is where history comes from and language is me and my people," Sol Mamakwa, a 53-year-old NDP legislator, said in an interview. "It's important because there's so many of us who are losing our languages. I think it's a step toward reconciliation and a step toward reviving our languages."

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[reasonsforhope]

Interior Department Announces New Guidance to Honor and Elevate Hawaiian Language

"In commemoration of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or Hawaiian Language Month, and in recognition of its unique relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community, the Department of the Interior today announced new guidance on the use of the Hawaiian language.  

A comprehensive new Departmental Manual chapter underscores the Department’s commitment to further integrating Indigenous Knowledge and cultural practices into conservation stewardship.  

“Prioritizing the preservation of the Hawaiian language and culture and elevating Indigenous Knowledge is central to the Biden-Harris administration's work to meet the unique needs of the Native Hawaiian Community,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “As we deploy historic resources to Hawaiʻi from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Interior Department is committed to ensuring our internal policies and communications use accurate language and data."  

Department bureaus and offices that engage in communication with the Native Hawaiian Community or produce documentation addressing places, resources, actions or interests in Hawaiʻi will use the new guidance on ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) for various identifications and references, including flora and fauna, cultural sites, geographic place names, and government units within the state.  The guidance recognizes the evolving nature of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi and acknowledges the absence of a single authoritative source. While the Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui & Elbert 2003) is designated as the baseline standard for non-geographic words and place names, Department bureaus and offices are encouraged to consult other standard works, as well as the Board on Geographic Names database.  

Developed collaboratively and informed by ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi practitioners, instructors and advocates, the new guidance emerged from virtual consultation sessions and public comment in 2023 with the Native Hawaiian Community. 

The new guidance aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening relationships with the Native Hawaiian Community through efforts such as the Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program and Hawaiian Forest Bird Keystone Initiative. During her trip to Hawaiʻi in June, Secretary Haaland emphasized recognizing and including Indigenous Knowledge, promoting co-stewardship, protecting sacred sites, and recommitting to meaningful and robust consultation with the Native Hawaiian Community."

-via US Department of the Interior press release, February 1, 2024

--

Note: I'm an editor so I have no idea whether this comes off like as big a deal as it potentially is. But it is potentially going to establish and massively accelerate the adoption of correctly written Native Hawaiian language, as determined by Native Hawaiians.

Basically US government communications, documentations, and "style guides" (sets of rules to follow about how to write/format/publish something, etc.) can be incredibly influential, especially for topics where there isn't much other official guidance. This rule means that all government documents that mention Hawai'i, places in Hawai'i, Hawaiian plants and animals, etc. will have to be written the way Native Hawaiians say it should be written, and the correct way of writing Hawaiian conveys a lot more information about how the words are pronounced, too, which could spread correct pronunciations more widely.

It also means that, as far as the US government is concerned, this is The Correct Way to Write the Hawaiian Language. Which, as an editor who just read the guidance document, is super important. That's because you need the 'okina (' in words) and kahakō in order to tell apart sizeable sets of different words, because Hawaiian uses so many fewer consonants, they need more of other types of different sounds.

And the US government official policy on how to write Hawaiian is exactly what editors, publishers, newspapers, and magazines are going to look at, sooner or later, because it's what style guides are looking at. Style guides are the official various sets of rules that books/publications follow; they're also incredibly detailed - the one used for almost all book publishing, for example, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS), is over a thousand pages long.

One of the things that CMoS does is tell you the basic rules of and what specialist further sources they think you should use for writing different languages. They have a whole chapter dedicated to this. It's not that impressive on non-European languages yet, but we're due for a new edition (the 18th) of CMoS in the next oh two to four years, probably? Actually numbering wise they'd be due for one this year, except presumably they would've announced it by now if that was the case.

I'm expecting one of the biggest revisions to the 18th edition to add much more comprehensive guidance on non-Western languages. Considering how far we've come since 2017, when the last one was released, I'll be judging the shit out of them if they do otherwise. (And CMoS actually keep with the times decently enough.)

Which means, as long as there's at least a year or two for these new rules/spellings/orthographies to establish themselves before the next edition comes out, it's likely that just about every (legit) publisher will start using the new rules/spellings/orthographies.

And of course, it would expand much further from there.

[canisvesperus]

The demo is free! Check it out and consider donating!

[dougielombax]

YES WAITER!

More Middle Eastern and North African language revivals please!!!!

Amazigh languages, Aramaic, Coptic, Nubian, all of them!

The more, the better!

[hanaflorbloom]

i told my coworker i was starting to learn Irish and he was like "why? at least learn a cool language like latin". O_O like...huh?

aside from the fact that all languages are cool in their own right, saying that about a language that has been historically suppressed is just wild to me.

[dayofethnicityorreligion]

The Daur (also spelled Dahur or Dagur; Chinese: 达斡尔族, Pinyin: Dáwò’ěr zú) are a Mongolic ethnic group native primarily to northeastern China, with a small population in Mongolia. They are officially recognized as one of the 56 ethnic groups of China. The Daurs are known for their rich cultural heritage, historical continuity, distinct language, and syncretic traditions that have integrated elements from various neighboring peoples while maintaining a strong sense of identity.

The Daur trace their ethnogenesis to the Khitan people, a proto-Mongolic group that founded the Liao Dynasty (907–1125 CE) in northern China and parts of Mongolia. Linguistic and historical evidence strongly supports the theory that the Daurs are descended from the Khitans, particularly those who remained behind after the collapse of the Liao state and were later absorbed into the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. This lineage is evidenced by linguistic connections and recorded population movements. Some Khitans moved northwestward and formed the Qara Khitai (Western Liao), while others remained in the northeast and gave rise to the Daur.

The name “Daur” likely stems from the Khitan word Daur, meaning "iron" or "strong," though the exact etymology remains debated among scholars. Their ethnonym was recorded by early Manchu sources, notably during the 17th-century expansion of the Qing Empire, in which the Daur played a significant role.

Today, most Daurs reside in Inner Mongolia, particularly in the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner (莫力达瓦达斡尔族自治旗) in the Hulunbuir region. Other significant populations are found in Heilongjiang and Xinjiang provinces of China. A smaller community resides in the Hovd province of western Mongolia, largely descendants of groups displaced during historical military campaigns.

Historically, the Daur lived along the middle Amur River (now mostly in Russian territory), but many were resettled by the Qing during the 17th century to serve as a buffer against Russian encroachment. These forced migrations played a role in shaping modern Daur distribution.

The Daur language is a member of the Mongolic language family, though it occupies a unique position within it. While it shares certain lexical and grammatical traits with other Mongolic languages, Daur is not mutually intelligible with Mongolian proper. It features significant archaisms and retains elements not found in other Mongolic tongues, making it of great interest to linguists.

Daur is divided into three main dialects: the Butha, Hulunbuir, and Qiqihar dialects, named after their respective geographic regions. The language incorporates numerous loanwords from Chinese, Manchu, Evenki, and Russian, reflecting the Daur's long history of interethnic contact. Daur has traditionally been a spoken language with no indigenous script, but it has been written in both Latin and Cyrillic scripts in different contexts. In modern China, Daur is sometimes transcribed using the Latin alphabet for linguistic documentation, though Chinese (Mandarin) remains the dominant written and administrative language.

Despite its historical importance, Daur is currently considered endangered, with most younger speakers shifting to Mandarin Chinese. Efforts to preserve and revitalize the language are ongoing but face significant challenges due to urbanization, intermarriage, and educational policies.

According to the most recent Chinese census data (2020), there are approximately 132,000 Daurs in China. The number of Daurs in Mongolia is significantly smaller, estimated to be only a few hundred individuals. The majority live in rural areas, though increasing urban migration has led to growing Daur communities in cities such as Qiqihar and Hailar.

The Daur population is relatively stable, with modest growth rates. They have a balanced gender distribution and relatively high rates of bilingualism in Mandarin Chinese. Education levels have risen substantially over recent decades, contributing to the erosion of traditional practices among the younger generation.

Historically, the Daurs practiced a mixed subsistence economy of agriculture, pastoralism, fishing, and hunting. They were particularly skilled in horse breeding, and their cavalry played an important role in regional conflicts, especially during the Qing dynasty.

Agriculture was centered on millet, barley, and later corn and wheat after these crops were introduced. Animal husbandry included cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs. In riverine areas, particularly near the Nen and Nonni rivers, fishing formed a significant part of the local diet. Daur hunters used bows and flintlock rifles, and they trapped sables, foxes, and other fur-bearing animals for trade.

In modern times, most Daurs engage in agriculture and light industry. However, traditional economic practices persist in some rural areas, particularly horsemanship, which remains a cultural touchstone.

Daur culture is rich and multifaceted, reflecting a synthesis of Mongolic, Manchu, and Han Chinese influences. Despite centuries of interaction with other groups, the Daurs have preserved distinct cultural elements.

Traditional Daur dress closely resembles Manchu-style robes, with long tunics, wide sleeves, and horse-riding boots. Women's attire traditionally includes embroidered dresses and elaborate headdresses. Today, traditional garments are worn mostly during festivals and ceremonies.

Daur musical traditions include the use of the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle), flutes, and drums. Songs often focus on themes of heroism, nature, and courtship. Traditional dances feature vigorous, rhythmic movements and are performed during major festivals and community events.

Historically, the Daurs practiced shamanism, with shamans serving as intermediaries between humans and the spirit world. They conducted rituals to cure illness, predict the future, and ensure community well-being. Shamanic practices are still observed in some regions, though they have declined significantly.

In addition to shamanism, the Daurs historically practiced Tibetan Buddhism to a limited degree, especially during the Qing period, when Lamaist influence spread across Inner Asia. Ancestral worship and animistic beliefs remain embedded in Daur spirituality, particularly reverence for nature spirits and animal totems.

Under modern Chinese governance, most Daurs are formally atheist or practice a form of syncretic spirituality that blends shamanic and Buddhist elements with secularism.

The most prominent Daur festival is the Nadam Festival, which is shared with Mongolic peoples. It features traditional sports such as wrestling, horse racing, and archery. Other festivals include lunar New Year celebrations and seasonal agricultural rites. During festivals, Daur people wear traditional clothing, perform folk music, and prepare ceremonial foods.

Traditional Daur society followed a patrilineal clan structure, with exogamous clans (known as hala) that regulated marriage patterns. Marriages were arranged and involved elaborate ceremonies including bride price negotiations, communal feasting, and symbolic rituals.

Although arranged marriages are now rare, clan identity remains culturally important. Intermarriage with other ethnic groups, particularly Han Chinese and Mongols, has increased in recent decades, contributing to linguistic and cultural assimilation.

The Daur played a strategic role in the military administration of the Qing Empire, especially under the Eight Banners system. Many Daur men served as soldiers in the Qing imperial army and helped to defend and expand the empire’s northeastern frontier. In recognition of their loyalty, the Qing granted them lands and special privileges, which helped maintain Daur ethnic cohesion.

In the 20th century, the Daur community experienced upheaval during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (1931–1945) and subsequent civil conflict in China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Daur were granted autonomy in certain regions and given minority protections under state law.

Efforts to preserve the Daur language have included documentation by linguists and government-sponsored cultural initiatives. However, the dominance of Mandarin in education and media has led to significant language shift. In some areas, Daur language instruction is offered at the primary level, but few schools provide secondary education in the language.

The Daur have benefited from affirmative action policies in education and employment that support ethnic minorities in China. These include bonus points on university entrance exams and recruitment into civil service roles.

Genetic studies indicate that the Daur possess a unique genetic profile that reflects their historical position as an intermediary group between Tungusic, Mongolic, and Altaic populations. They show a high frequency of Y-chromosome haplogroup C3, associated with Mongolic and Siberian ancestry, as well as mitochondrial DNA haplogroups common in East Asia.

Anthropologically, the Daur exhibit physical characteristics typical of northeast Asian populations, including epicanthic folds, straight black hair, and broad facial features.

[llyfrenfys]

I'm making my opposition to the proposal to severely reduce language provision at the University of Aberdeen known - Scottish Gaelic, an endangered Celtic langauge, is one of the languages at risk of being cut. This would do immense damage to the language revitalisation effort. @uniofaberdeen must reverse this decision and commit to protecting Gaelic and other languages in their institution.

If you feel the same way, you're encouraged to make more posts and stories about the issue to show the University of Aberdeen just how much this decision is frowned upon. Use the hashtag #saveuoalanguages in your posts to get the word out about this.

I'll be travelling tomorrow and wish I could do more right now. But together we can make it known just how unpopular this decision is.

[linguisticdiscovery]

How the Mohawk community is working to revitalize their language

[useless-catalanfacts]

15th March 2025: People from Northern Catalonia protest in Perpinyà (Northern Catalonia's capital city) for the right to have schools in the Catalan language. They chant "l'escola en català, avui i demà" ("school in Catalan, today and tomorrow"). The signs say "a living Bressola [school], a living language" and "institutional support now!".

The French Government only allows public schools to teach in French, marginalizing the local indigenous languages. The local peoples have had to organize among themselves and create their own networks of cooperative private schools to be able to give education in their lands' language. Basque people were pioneers in this, and quickly followed by Bretons, Catalans, Occitans and Corsicans.

These schools are very important in fighting back against the centuries of French supremacist propaganda that says our languages are unfit for the modern world or for the development of a child's brain. French schools used corporal punishment and humiliation on children heard speaking the local language (Catalan, Basque, Occitan, Breton, Corsican, etc) instead of French until the 1970s (more info in this post and this post). As a result, most people in Northern Catalonia don't know how to write Catalan. Nowadays, studies show that 70% of the population of Northern Catalonia wants their children to go to a school where they can learn Catalan, but only 8% of them have been able to. We would like to be able to include them all, but we don't have enough resources, and as a result we lose speakers of the language who will be monolingual French speakers instead.

La Bressola, founded in 1976, is the network of cooperative Catalan-language schools. They have 7 primary schools and 2 high schools, adding up to 1,100 students and 110 staff members. They have excellent modern methodology and affordable prices, because this is not an elite school, it's what we wish could be the public school, so everyone regardless of wealth should be able to access it. For this reason, the price each family has to pay depends on their income (ranging from 36€ to 140€ per month) and the schools refuse to raise prices, they always take an anti-elitist stand, but it's difficult to keep them economically viable. They managed with donations and the few economical aid given by the regional government, but things changed drastically in 2021, when the far right wing parties won the regional elections. Among the new government's first measures were taking away all support to Catalan language and identity, forcing only French language and identity instead (removing public signs of the Catalan soul of places, legally persecuting elected representatives who speak Catalan in town hall meetings...). But the far right wing government not only stopped giving them some (it was already not that much) money, but also has raised the taxes that Bressola schools specifically have to pay. At the same time, inflation made the costs rise.

Yesterday, Northern Catalans protested to ask for the regional government's funds to be reinstalled, aiming at the government's aid being 5% of the school's budget. Without this, the schools will have to reduce the number of students they can take in because they can't pay the staff.

This responsibility shouldn't fall on individuals, it should be paid fully by the state. But meanwhile, if you would like to support La Bressola —institution which is absolutely necessary to keep Northern Catalan alive—, you can make a donation through their website: here. The website is in Catalan, but if you would like to make a donation and need help navigating it, please don't hesitate to send me a direct message and I will guide you through it.

[itskindofareallyniceday]

Something new for Native American Heritage Month this year:

This playlist features indigenous musicians from North, Central, and South America. It includes a variety of genres (post-classical composers, folk punk, indie pop, pow wow punk rock (yes, that's a thing!), indie rock, etc.), as well as a variety of languages (Wolastoqey, Inuktitut, Atikamekw, Cherokee, Navajo, Cree, Quechua, Greenlandic (Kalaallisut), Tłı̨chǫ, English, French, and Spanish).

[glittery-phonaesthemes]

In 2022, Lisa Perley-Dutcher, a longtime nurse and health professional, opened the first and only Wolastoqey immersion school in Fredericton.

Since then, 18 students have attended Kekhimin, currently based in a temporary space at the Killarney Lake Rotary Lodge.

Growing up, Perley-Dutcher attended a day school at Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation, where children suffered physical and emotion abuse, including being strapped if they spoke their own language.

In her mind, this connected her language with pain and she avoided speaking it while growing up. Relearning her language as an adult has helped her address "those traumas," she said.

Establishing her immersion school has been a way to turn the tables. Fewer than 100 people speak Wolastoqey fluently and most are elders, so this is a way to keep the language from disappearing.

Perley-Dutcher, a registered nurse for 30 years, said that the deaths of older family members caused her to realize the importance of language preservation, which she called a vital aspect of health.

She spent her whole career working in community health nursing to improve health outcomes for First Nations people, including setting up a national home care program called First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care, and serving as the president of the Indigenous Nurses Association of Canada.

While leading that association, her focus was to create a mandate to provide culturally competent care to Indigenous communities, which included spearheading the "first Aboriginal nursing initiative" program at UNB, she said, called Nutsihpiluwewicik, to provide a bridge for First Nations people to enter the profession.

"My career has been very much focused on health," Perley-Dutcher said.

"I did my masters on cultural competency and cultural safety, I've done some work with communities in terms of looking at racism and how to deal with that, setting up patient navigators in our healthcare system."

In 2021, she graduated from a language program St. Thomas University.

"I took a two-year language intensive program on Wolastoqey and after I finished that, me and some of my fellow students, we set up a language immersion program," she said.

She said that she directly connects Indigenous health to all elements of Indigenous life, including language.

"I feel like this also is addressing a health outcome in terms of identity, in terms of mental health and self worth and the whole process of reclaiming language in itself."

Perley-Dutcher's son, Jeremy Dutcher, is an award-winning musician. His career is devoted to revitalizing Wolastoqey culture through music, and his first album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, was entirely in the Wolastoqey language.

Dutcher, who is based in Montreal, said that this was because it was his first language and "our young people didn't have music in our language."

"When we enter a room, we're going to introduce ourselves in our language first," Dutcher said.

"And so for me, I was like, 'it's got to be rooted within a cultural place.' If you're going to introduce yourself, you've got to do it properly."

The language was something that Dutcher was familiar with from his childhood but he taught himself to read and write it when studying music and anthropology at Dalhousie University.

He credits his mother for his focus on language and culture and says that, because of that, he's "been trying to shout about Kehkimin from the rooftops."

Dutcher said that his involvement with Kehkimin intensified during the early stages of the pandemic, when concerts and live performances stopped. He was forced to think about the deeper significance of his music, which "is to talk about the language."

Now, Dutcher works with teachers on language development and pays visits to the school whenever he's in Fredericton to meet with and encourage the students.

Dutcher said that intergenerational commitments like his and his mother's are vital.

When the older generation gathers, they often speak together in Wolastoqey. Some even still speak the language at family gatherings, where younger generations can't understand, making it clear how much has been lost.

Because of this, he said it's important to have a strong connection between youth and elders, "weaving together those generational ties because there's so much that we can learn from each other."

Perley-Dutcher said Kehkimin has been supported by the province but lost significant funding in recent cuts. In 2023, funding received from New Brunswick's Environmental Trust Fund was cut from $85,000 to $35,000.

She said that government funding is essential and they suffer greatly without it.

"We're trying to save a language here," she said. "It's vitally important that it happens now, or it's not going to happen."

Because of funding cuts, the school has had to reduce its hours to half days and reduce the number of teachers they hire.

Perley-Dutcher said it is hard to run the school without a permanent space. Though Kehkimin has use of the Killarney Lake Rotary Lodge and a nearby house, they are leased spaces for $1 a year.

Though she praised the city's generosity, she said that they have had difficulty securing funding for renovations to the house, which must be renovated before use, without ownership.

She also said the cuts mean that the school now has just six staff members making it hard to juggle the day-to-day operations, write funding applications, and provide safe, quality education for the students.

But Perley-Dutcher said she appreciates the funding that they still do receive because it allows them to continue.

"So, I am grateful for that. The city has been very generous to us."

The City of Fredericton gave the school a three-year lease of Killarney Lodge for $1 per year, and a 10-year lease on a nearby house, which needs renovation before being used. Kekhimin is currently trying to raise funds for this renovation.

Despite the difficulty of the work, Perley-Dutcher said that it has been tremendous for her.

"It's probably the hardest work I've done so far in my career. I get very little sleep. I put a lot into it and our team puts a lot into it," she said.

"It's good though. It's good for the soul. My healing has occurred … it's such a wonderful gift that I've been given to be able to do this work."

[uwmarchives]

Native American Heritage Month at UWM Archives

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we offer this selection of materials from our collections that begin to illustrate Native American presence and power at UWM.

📸: Sandra Harris Tran tables for the Native American Student Movement (NASM) at UWM, circa 1980. The NASM has been a key vehicle for Native student organizing, support, and expression since the late 1960s. NASM is now known as the American Indian Student Association. Call Number: UWM Photographs Collection, UWM AC 6, Box 18.

📸: A Milwaukee Sentinel clipping pictures American Indian students organizing for a dedicated academic program outside Chapman Hall in 1971. Call Number: UWM University Communications & Media Relations Records, UWM AC 134, Box 2.

📸: The cover to a 1974 catalog shows the fruits of Native student organizing in the form of the UWM Native American Studies Program (now American Indian Studies). Call Number: UWM Office of the Chancellor Records, UWM AC 46, Box 54.

📸: The UWM Native American Studies Program announces the pilot of the Wisconsin Native American Languages Project (WNALP) in 1974. This announcement is from "Anishinaabe News: UW-Milwaukee American Indian News," a newsletter of the Native American Studies Program and NASM. Call Number: UWM Office of the Chancellor Records, UWM AC 46, Box 54.

📸: Margaret Richmond offers language instruction to a class of Native "youngsters" as a Menominee Language Resource Consultant for the WNALP in 1976. Call Number: UWM Photographs Collection, UWM AC 6, Box 18. The earlier Native American Studies Program WNALP announcement anticipates an appropriate caption: "We've a lot to learn from our elders!"

In cooperation with the Great Lakes Intertribal Council, UWM Archives stewards the Wisconsin Native American Languages Project Records, 1973-1976 (UWM Mss 20). With extensive instructional materials from the WNALP, the collection continues to serve as an important resource for the study and revitalization of Wisconsin's Native languages for citizens of Wisconsin's Ojibwe, Menominee, Oneida, Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk nations.

[skiddo-xy]

Super interesting article I read on language revitalization policy for Inuktitut