Fw: Re: Siouan language programs?

[SHEA KATHLEEN DORETTE]

Frontier School in Red Rock (K-12) wants to offer both (Iowa-)Oto and
(Omaha-)Ponca at the high-school level next fall.  The classes have been
appoved by the school board and everything and have about 15 eager
students signed up for each class, but the problem is that they don't have
any teachers, curriculum, or teaching materials.  The superintendent heard
about my work on Ponca from Parrish Williams, one of my Ponca consultants,
who has two great-granddaughters in the school, and asked to meet me.  As
a result, we decided to get together a group of resource people from among
the Poncas and my linguist friends to form a "language committee," which
has met a couple of times.  (We're concentrating on Ponca, but the
Otoe-Missourias also need develop a curriculum.  I haven't heard who the
Oto teacher will be--possibly Kenneth Black.)  I have a problem, in that
I'm facing a graduate school deadline for finishing my dissertation and
can't afford to get involved in intensive/extensive lesson planning right
now, so I've told the school that I can be available as a "consultant."
The school will provide classroom space and facilities but expects the
Poncas and us other "experts" to develop the curriculum and to come up
with any necessary funding to do it.  (We're meeting with the tribal
council next Monday to talk about this.  Apparently, the school district,
although very wealthy and reputedly a very good school, due in part to
money derived from a nearby power plant, just has money in its budget to
pay for books and a curriculum already developed but not for curriculum
development.  It does have a lot of good computers and an outstanding
media, i.e. video, program for high-school students, which could be
utilized in the Ponca class.)  Alice Anderton, a linguist from Norman who
does a weekily t.v. program on Oklahoma Native languages called Wordpath
and who heads a non-profit clearinghouse, the Intertribal Wordpath
Society, has driven up to attend our committee meetings and has offered to
continue to meet once a week with us to develop a plan.  She showed us a
videotape of a workshop led by Leanne Hinton in Lawton demonstrating the
master-apprentice approach to language learning which could be adapted to
the Ponca class.  Since Ponca doesn't have a standardized writing system
at this time, if the language is to be offered in the fall, it would have
to be an oral-aural approach initially.  The alternative is to start the
class in the fall of 2000, which the superintendent is willing to do.

Any suggestions from those on the Siouan list about teaching materials,
methods, suggestions about ways to deal with the logistics--political or
financial, success stories, or anything else would be greatly appreciated!
I've already gotten information and input from Catherine Rudin, Carolyn
Quintero, and Susan Garzon, who stand ready to help in whatever way they
can.  Sara Trechter, whose keynote address I heard at the recent WAIL
conference, has offered to send me references from the class she teaches
on second language acquisition.  John Nichols, who was also at the WAIL
conference, suggested the intriguing idea of conducting the course
something like a fieldmethods course but without much writing, letting the
students "discover" the language from the native speakers (about 40 in
number, mostly in their 70's and 80's) and perhaps throwing in a little
linguistics.  Bob Rankin suggested that the ASTP (Army Specialized
Training Program) that worked so well during World War II for linguists
having to work up teaching materials in a hurry for strategic languages
might be useful.  Does anyone have any information about this method or
know of materials outlining the "template" that was used for developing
the ASTP teaching grammars?  Again, any suggestions from any of you would
be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Kathy Shea

On Wed, 19 May 1999, Jimm G GoodTracks wrote:

> UPDATED INFORMATION  =  MAY 19, 1999
> RE:  IOWAY TRIBAL PROGRAMING
>
> --------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: jggoodtracks at juno.com
> To: siouan at lists.Colorado.EDU
> Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 22:53:09 -0500
> Subject: Re: Siouan language programs?
>
>
> Bob:
> THIS IS A CORRECTED UPDATE In regard to your update for the Plains Volume
> for the Handbook of the NAm by the Smithsonian:
>
> I STAND CORRECTED BY AN INFORM IO ENROLLED MEMEBER IN THAT THE:
>
> Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma at Perkins, OK=
> 	Tribe has hired an interested historian, archivist, (Cultural
> Preservationist)
> THEY ARE INVOLVED IN TNE NAGPRA  (N.AM. GRAVES PROTECTION & REPATRIATION
> ACT (AS PER THEIR WEB PAGE).
>
> IT IS SUZZETTE ROGERS, CURATOR FOR THE IOWAY & SAC MUSEUM OF HIGHLAND,
> KS....
> who has sponcered TRIBAL members to various seminars, museums, etc. in
> past/ current several years.
> IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT SHE HOPES TO WORK OUT SOME KIND OF A CULTURAL
> PROGRAM WITH THE OKLAHOMA IOWAY TRIBE. (AS PER THE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS
> IO PERSON, WHO HAS ASSISTED HER ON OCCASSION, IN PREVIOUS CULTURAL
> PROJECTS).
> Previously, it is said that Truman Black offered class instructions (at
> public school?), (ETC.)
>
> Jimm GT
>
>
> 						
>