Guardians of tradition (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Guardians of tradition

Warm Springs elder Adeline Miller and her apprentice, Merle Kirk, are helping
preserve a native language

By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin
Published: October 09. 2009 4:00AM PST

At first Merle Kirk and Adeline Miller were inseparable. For eight hours a day,
the two went over language drills. Miller, a tribal elder, would say a word in
her native Ishichkin, and Kirk would repeat it. They traveled and taught
together. Kirk listened without interrupting.

Five years ago, Kirk was recruited by the Culture and Heritage Department for
the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to serve as 88-year-old Miller's
apprentice.

The responsibility of learning Miller's native language, Ishichkin, of absorbing
the traditional songs and mastering tribal crafts has never worried Kirk.

Although there are other efforts to preserve native languages, Kirk is the only
apprentice learning Ishichkin through the Culture and Heritage Department. The
program was initially started by a grant that has since dried up.

But Kirk, 36, continues to learn.

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