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<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Fyi item. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Thanks<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Carolyn <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 color="#000033"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#000033;
font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 color="#000033"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#000033;
font-weight:bold'>Keeping a native language alive<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white'><b><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black;font-weight:bold'>Computer software seen as key to increasing the
number of Mohawk speakers Immersion programs featured at Kahnawake Reserve,
writes <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Robert J. Galbraith </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=1 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Jul. 29,
2006. 11:37 AM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=1 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>ROBERT
J. GALBRAITH<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=1 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>SPECIAL
TO THE STAR<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>MONTREAL</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>—The Kahnawake Reserve near here is home to 8,000 Mohawks,
but only about 1,000 of them can speak their native language. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>To
correct that, the community recently launched a computer software program it
hopes will help revive the Mohawk language and encourage residents to get more
in touch with their ancient culture and its teachings. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>This
is the first program to be initiated under the Rosetta Stone Endangered
Languages Program, with similar software now being developed for the Seminole
of the southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the Inuit of the far north.
Rosetta Stone software is currently being used to teach millions of users 30
major languages in more than 150 countries. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"Language
defines nationhood. It shapes and forms your whole world of who you are. It's
part of everything we are as a people," says Donna <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Goodleaf,
a PhD in education and the executive director of Kahnawake's Cultural Centre. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"Part
of our agenda as a cultural centre is to develop and implement language
programs for the people of the community," she says. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
computer program will supplement a variety of other language training elements
that are already in place in Kahnawake, including adult language enrichment
classes, language immersion "nests" for preschool-age children and a
cable access program for family members of all ages. They are all aimed at
expanding the number of fluent Mohawk speakers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
software immerses the user into the language he or she is trying to learn,
through its dynamic immersion method. Words and phrases spoken by people from
the community are matched with pictures of familiar places and faces. There are
several options to choose from, and through the process of elimination, the
user will pick the appropriate picture to match the words. Where other language
software packages teach by translation, immersion ensures that language meaning
is not lost, as it never equates indigenous words with English words. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Word
of the program has sparked great interest in native communities across <st1:place
w:st="on">North America</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"We
have received calls from the Six Nations, the Sak and Fox Nations of Oklahoma,
the Navaho of Arizona, the Squamish of British Columbia, the Seminoles of
Florida, the Inuit and the Ojibwa in Ontario," Goodleaf says. "They
all want to know how it is working out." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
Kahnawake band council, under the leadership of Grand Chief Michael Delisle,
wholly endorses the learning program. Not only is the program being used in
schools and private homes, but by Sept. 1, the council will require Kahnawake's
900 public servants to enrol in Mohawk language lessons. This includes social
workers, teachers, medical workers, firefighters, peacekeepers and
infrastructure employees. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"There's
a fine line on our public employees in learning Mohawk. We're not going to
throw people out," Delisle says. "We're not trying to force
businesses to conform immediately. We're not saying your job is being
threatened if you don't learn our language, but people with language skills
will definitely be an asset when it comes to hiring. There is no real timeline
(for language enforcement) but this is transitional. If we don't see the
necessary results, we will have to be stricter." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div align=center>
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<td style='padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt'>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face=Helvetica><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;font-weight:bold'>`Language
defines nationhood. It shapes and forms your whole world of who you are' <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><font size=2 color=black face=Helvetica><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'>Donna Goodleaf, Kahnawake Reserve <o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
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</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"I
don't foresee any problems," Delisle says. "For doctors and nurses it
may be tough because of their workload, but we will eventually have to serve
our community in their own language. We are hoping the civil servants bring the
initiative home." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>According
to the grand chief, "in 1998 the elders told us that language is where our
culture is based, and when we die off, our language will die with us. So, that
year they put forward a declaration calling for its preservation," Delisle
says. "With this in mind, in 1999 the band council passed a law making
Mohawk the reserve's official language. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"We
didn't want to do what Bill 101 (the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Quebec</st1:place></st1:State>
language law) did and scare people off. We said, `let's look at a transition
program and develop a plan.'" <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Delisle's
goal is to have 30 per cent of Kahnawake's public employees fluent in Mohawk in
five years, 60 per cent in 10 years and 80 per cent in 15 years. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"Our
younger people are getting Mohawk cultural and language education at the two
immersion schools and at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Survival</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, located in the
village. All subjects are taught in Mohawk there, but it is the middle
generation, those of the 30 to 60 years group we are most hopeful of
attracting. A lot of these people went through the residential school
experience. They were not allowed to speak their native Mohawk tongue while
incarcerated in these institutions and many lost that ability. They will get
the most impact from it." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Delisle
says Mohawk language and culture began its modern decline in the 1950s, largely
due to the overwhelming English media and pop culture, then by the French
language and political changes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"Theirs
(the English culture) is a dominant language and culture in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
especially with MTV, radio and television. To some of our youth, it's not sexy
to know Mohawk; it's sexy to know hip-hop," he says. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
idea for the language revitalization drive came three years ago, when
then-Kahnawake grand chief Joe Norton sent letters to 40 businesses in the
online gaming industry, asking for cash contributions to be aimed at ways to
regenerate interest in learning the language. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>There
was only one response. That came from John Moshal, a Jew who lives in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Durban</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">South
Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Moshal is the president of
Microgaming Inc., the world's largest online gaming software developer. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Moshal
saw similarities between the situation with the Mohawk language and Hebrew's
revival, so he contributed $250,000 over a five-year period to find a way to
preserve the language. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
Mohawk used the money to hire Fairfield Technologies of Virginia to develop the
Rosetta Stone software program for the Mohawk dialect. Two months ago, the
first 1,000 CD-ROMs were delivered to the reserve. They feature four local
Mohawk speakers, and numerous Kahnawake landmarks and familiar faces, making it
a truly home version for the people of Kahnawake. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The
struggle to preserve a language is not solely a Mohawk problem. Of the world's
6,000 spoken languages, 50 per cent are endangered, and an average of one
language disappears every two weeks, according to a UNESCO study of the present
state of the world's languages. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"The
struggle with preserving language is not inherent to Kahnawake or other nations
exclusively," Delisle says. "My hope is that there will be in the
near coming years, a national affiliation of Mohawk speakers across the nation.
There is a lot at stake, but we are not going to disappear."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>______________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 color=maroon face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:maroon'>Carolyn
Hepburn</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Director, Native Education and Training</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Sault</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType></span></font></st1:place><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> of Applied
Arts and Technology</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>443 Northern Avenue</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Sault Ste. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Marie</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">ON</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">P6A 5L3</st1:PostalCode></st1:place></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Phone: (705) 759-2554 ext. 2499</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Fax: (705) 759-0175</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Web: </span></font><a
href="http://www.saultcollege.ca/NativeEducation"><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>www.saultcollege.ca/NativeEducation</span></font></a><font
face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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