Minnesota Humanitites Commission Native Language workshop

[Heather Souter]

Taanshi, Richard,

I am interested to learn more about your initiatives.  I am a Michif
and live in Northern Manitoba.  I have had an interest in language
revitalization for some time and was involved in a Master-Apprentice
project for a while as well.

I have recently left my job and will be devoting my time to learning
more Michif, gathering medicines with an elder, and preparing to go to
grad school.  I have been accepted into KU starting January 2007 (with
a full-tuition waiver, thank the Creator!) and will be working with
Akira Yamamoto and Arienne Dwyer.  Actually, I believe I met a couple
of years ago you and was very impressed (almost overwhelmed!) by the
work you had done.  You continue to more forward, and so I would like
to learn from your experience.

To be honest with you, I had hoped to be further along in my language
learning and revitalization efforts by now.  Life in my small mixed
(English, Objibwe, Michif and Cree) community of speakers is a
struggle.  We are constantly challenged by our mixed status (First
Nation treaty-holders, "non-status" Indians, and Metis/Michif nation
members (aboriginal but non-treaty holders) and the related status of
our languages.  However, be that as it may, I have recommitted myself
to my language/culture.  And, since funding seems to be a constant
problem, I am eager to learn more about other successes in this area.
This is especially important as the false economy of welfare is
central to almost everyone's life here.  It would be great to be able
to offer something to elders and others who want to get involved but
need a few more resources to motivate them....

BTW, how far do you live from the Canadian border?  I live about 4-5
hours from Winnipeg....

Eekushi maaka,
Heather Souter

On 7/10/06, Richard LaFortune <anguksuar at yahoo.com> wrote:
> We have a very good crowd (more than 80) of people
> here today in St. Paul for this historic, day-long
> workshop.  I first began working with the commission
> about 9-10 years ago when I launched the Grotto
> Foundation Native language research initiative (now a
> $5.6M fifteen year long program).
>
> As state-wide legislative co-chair for the Dakota
> Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance I approached
> MHC again a little over a year ago & suggested that we
> explore a Native language children's literature
> initiative -- this workshop  presents the first step
> in what we hope will generate several dozen beautiful,
> hardcover Native language children's books in Dakota &
> Ojibwe.  I created a tentative budget for about $2.25M
> over a 2-3 period so that children's books, regional
> dialect dictionaries & some master-apprentice work can
> be used as the starting point for long-term
> humanties/cultural conservation-based work with this
> state institution.  If anyone on the listserve has
> questions about how we put this together in Minnesota,
> I'm on the organizing committee & I am happy to be a
> resource --or of course you can contact the commission
> administration as well.
>
> peace!
> Anguksuar (Richard LaFortune)
> co-Chair, Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization
> Alliance
> 612.267.1682
>
>
>
> Dakota and Ojibwe Language and Literacy Workshop
> Monday, July 10, 2006
> 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
> Humanities Education Center, St. Paul
>
> The Minnesota Humanities Commission is partnering with
> Dakota and Ojibwe language supporters to offer a
> workshop that honors these languages and cultures. The
> emphasis of this workshop will be on materials for use
> in early childhood (ages 0-8) language programs. Dr.
> Anton Treuer, Assistant Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji
> State University, will open the workshop with a
> session on the importance of language revitalization.
> Breakout sessions will highlight various immersion
> program models; how to work together with elders in
> language programs; and how to make books for use with
> young children and their families. Exhibitors will
> display and sell children's books and other Dakota and
> Ojibwe language materials for use with young children
> and their families. This workshop is open to all
> educators who have an interest in preserving Native
> American languages. Registration for this seminar is
> now closed.
>
> Fee: $25, which includes lunch and a cassette
> recording of From the Sky: Stories in Song from Native
> North America.
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>