Expert (language)

[Andre Cramblit]

Tuesday, July 20, 2004, 12:00 A.M. Pacific

Lawrence Nicodemus, 94, tribal-language expert

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
The Associated Press

SPOKANE ? Lawrence G. Nicodemus, a Coeur d'Alene Indian tribal elder who
made preservation of the tribal language his life's work, has died at
age 94.

Mr. Nicodemus, who died Saturday, was considered a hero within the
Northern Idaho tribe for his efforts to preserve Snchitsu'umshtsn, as
the language is called.

"We will be closing tribal offices on the day of his funeral to remember
our past and to pay our respects for this tribal elder," Chief J.
Allan, tribal vice chairman, said in a news release. Mr. Nicodemus will
be buried today.

He wrote a self-study course on the language that was published in 1975.
It included a primer, two-volume dictionary and audio cassette tape
delivered to every tribal family on the reservation. The course remains
in use today, the tribe said.

Mr. Nicodemus also wrote an account of tribal family and historical
names in the old language and compiled a list of place names in the
original territory of the tribe.

Mr. Nicodemus was part of a long family legacy of preserving the
language, an effort that started in the 1870s when Jesuit missionaries
required all Indian children to learn English.

Cyprian Kwaruutus Nicodemus, his paternal grandfather, was a principal
consultant to ethnologist James Teit in the production of Teit's
important 19th-century account of the tribe, which included much
information on the language.

When Columbia University professor Gladys Reichard began working with
tribal elders in the 1920s to help save the Coeur d'Alene language, she
developed a working relationship with Dorothy Nicodemus, widow of
Cyprian.

Lawrence Nicodemus was born on July 21, 1909, to a family that farmed on
the reservation near the Washington-Idaho border. He entered boarding
school at age 9, a time when he spoke only the Coeur d'Alene language.

In 1935, he went to Columbia University with Reichard and spent 13
months working there. The result was a grammar of the tribal language,
published in 1938.

During World War II, he wrote a newsletter for members of the tribe both
at home and serving in the armed forces.

"Letters home to Lawrence became, essentially, dispatches from the
European and Pacific theaters," said Raymond Brinkman, a student of Mr.
Nicodemus who is now director of the tribe's Language Department.

After World War II, Mr. Nicodemus was appointed a judge of the Coeur
d'Alene Tribal Court and was a member of the tribal council in the
1950s. By the 1990s, the tribe was making enough money from gambling
revenues to begin new efforts to preserve its language.

Although in his 80s, Mr. Nicodemus helped the tribe create both a
high-school and college course in the language.

He continued teaching language classes until his 94th birthday last
year.

--

André Cramblit: andre.p.cramblit.86 at alum.dartmouth.org is the Operations
Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC
(http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs
of American Indians

To subscribe to a news letter of interest to Natives send an email to:
IndigenousNewsNetwork-subscribe at topica.com or go to:
http://www.topica.com/lists/IndigenousNewsNetwork/subscribe/?location=listinfo