Immersion program provides new hope for preserving Ojibwe language (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Immersion program provides new hope for preserving Ojibwe language

by Tom Robertson, Minnesota Public Radio
April 11, 2008

Leech Lake Indian Reservation — It's pretty amazing when you think about this --
it's been decades since anyone's heard Ojibwe children routinely speaking their
native tongue.

That's what's happening every day in a K-3 classroom at the tribally-run
Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School east of Cass Lake. The rule for teachers and students
here is -- no English.

Ojibwe language is not the subject in this classroom. It's the vehicle for
teaching everything; reading, writing and arithmetic.

The four-year-old language immersion program is called Niigaane, which in Ojibwe
means "the ones who lead." That's the way many people view these kids.

Access full article and accompanying media below:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/08/teachingojibway/