Indigenous Language Survivance:
A Closer Look at Cherokee, Cree, Wampanoag, and Dakota languages
By: Francelia Walsh-Despeignes and Ellie Stolzoff
This page shares stories of language erasure and revitalization for four Indigenous groups: the Cherokee, Cree, Wampanoag, and Dakota people. These languages and cultures are represented in four objects chosen from the Kunian Gallery. Each object introduces the story of its corresponding language. We aim to map the past, present, and future of each language in order to better understand the complex position of Native American languages within their respective cultures. Our goal is to illuminate Indigenous languages, their unique histories, how they are spoken, and the efforts to strengthen their present and ensure their future. We believe that it is important to highlight the stories of language loss through genocide and forced assimilation practices and current revitalization efforts for each individual Native tribe to combat a pan-Indian view of Indigenous languages and colonization’s impact on them.
Today, language revitalization efforts by Native communities consist of a variety of strategies and practices. Some examples of these language revitalization methods include documentation of alphabets and grammar, preservation of texts, language classes, higher education courses and degree programs, and bilingual and immersion schools. Tribes and Native individuals use a combination of these strategies in order to help their communities reclaim their sovereignty and connect to their culture.
Asa Hitchcock, translator (American, 1800-1849).
John Preaching in the Wilderness; The Star in the East; The Ten Commandments,
Pendleton’s Lithography, Boston, 1836.
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Collection of Native American Literature
xx File PM784.H58 S37 1836
GROUNDHOG SITTING AND RAINING
This video telling the story of a groundhog in the rain shows Sequoyah’s syllabary in action in the curriculum of Atse Kituwah, a private Cherokee and English immersion school of the Eastern Band Cherokee. The Cherokee Studies department at Western Carolina University has partnered with Atse Kituwah to work on implementing a ten-year language revitalization initiative.
FIRST LANGUAGE:
THE RACE TO SAVE CHEROKEEIf you have a little more time, consider watching this documentary which tells the story of Eastern Band Cherokee language revitalization efforts.
Unidentified author. Unidentified Indigenous translator or translators (Canadian). Indian Child’s Book: A Primer in English and Cree Languages, Unidentified publisher, 1880s.
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Collection of Native American Literature
PM986.I5
The author, history, and place of origin of this children’s book are unknown, leaving many questions with no definite answers. Is this book an attempt by a Cree author to teach the language to the next generation? Or is it a book written by missionaries to indoctrinate young children to white culture?
Objects like this remind us how the education of young children can be turned into a process of assimilation. The book is written in Cree, a language spoken throughout Central Canada by many Native groups. The Canadian government opened the first boarding school in 1879, aiming to erase traditional culture from Cree and other Canadian Native communities. The last boarding school was closed in 1996. There was significant loss of life and harm to Native children and their families. However, the goal of complete assimilation through boarding schools failed–today the Cree language has 96,757 speakers in Canada.
Today, there are children’s books made with the purpose of language revitalization, teaching Cree to young children. One example of these books is Let’s Get Outside, which is one of many free stories shared on YouTube, making it accessible for personal use by families.
LET’S GET OUTSIDE
The following video is from SayItFirst, an organization that translates children’s books in four Native languages spoken in Canada, including Cree.
James-Perry, Elizabeth (Aquinnah Wampanoag, American, born 1973).
Wampumpeak, Apponeganset (Dartmouth), Massachusetts, 2022.
Wampum, milkweed fiber, copper dye.
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Collection of Native American Literature
Vault E98.C8 J36 2022
Wampum belts are used to tell and pass on tribal stories, commemorating events and cultural practices. Elizabeth James-Perry preserves this mode of communication, similar to the language revitalization strategies of spoken Indigenous languages. She is a part of a larger effort from Wampanoag people to revive and maintain traditional art, culture, and language. This is much more than just the preservation of historical practices, pieces from artists like James-Perry show how Wampanoag culture is modern and has relevance today.
The language was not spoken for 150 years before Jessie ‘Little Doe’ Baird spearheaded a revival of Wampanoag in 1993. Baird used the first Bible printed in the United States, which was written in Massachusett, a language very similar to Wampanoag. The Bible is often credited to John Eliot, an English missionary, however, his translation and publication could not have occurred without a number of Massachusett and other Native American contributors. Much like James-Perry, the Jessie ‘Little Doe’ Baird’s Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project’s classroom maintains a form of communication that has faced erasure.
RETURN OF THE WAMPANOAG LANGUAGE
Watch this video to learn about the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project.
James Garvie (Tatanka Kinina) (Yankton, American, 1862-1952), Jennie W. Cox (American), and Eunice Kitto (American). Abraham Lincoln toni kin qa Aesop tawoyake kin (Life of Abraham Lincoln and Aesop’s Fables). Published by A. L. Riggs and printed by Indian pupils of Santee Normal Training School, Nebraska, 1893.
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Collection of Native American Literature
File PM1024 .G37 1893
The Dakota language is divided into Western and Eastern dialects – the Isanti (Santee) people, originating from Eastern Dakota, speak the Isanti/Sisituŋwaŋ (sisituan) dialect.
This book was printed by children from the Santee Dakota tribe when they were students at the Santee Normal Training School, a boarding school established in 1870. The printing press that made this book, which includes both a retelling of the life of Abraham Lincoln and a collection of Aesop’s Fables, also published Iapi (ee-a-pee) Oaye (oy-eh), a newspaper written by and for Dakota people. A year after its founding the school built a printing press and began the newspaper in the Dakota language. The Iapi Oaye was the longest running Indigenous newspaper in American history. The writers used the newspaper to preserve their culture, traditions, and language and to circulate important messages. The articles of the paper demonstrate the awareness and concerns of the Dakota community about the future of their people in the face of colonization.
The printing press shows the complexity of assimilation and missionary work in tribal communities. In examples like this book, the press was built as a tool of forced cultural assimilation, but it also printed works of resistance that centered Indigenous voices, like Iapi Oaye . How does the duality of the printing press help us better understand the history of the Santee Dakota people?
LANGUAGE:
We Hear From Dakota Language Speakers on the Beauty of the Language and Its ImportanceIn this video Dakota language learners and speakers share why the language is important to them and their culture.
Dakota Language Camp Carries on Native Traditions
This video shows kids and parents learning the Dakota language thanks to a partnership with Parks and Recreation and the Dakota Language Department at the University of Minnesota.
RESOURCE GUIDE
Our Mother Tongues – Map of revitalization projects; videos of native speakers and second language learners, video clips http://www.ourmothertongues.org/Home.aspx National Language Revitalization – Bureau of Indian Affairs Report on Native language revitalization https://www.bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/inline-files/bia_native_american_revitalization_lit_review_draft_08182023.pdf Cherokee – Eastern Band of Cherokee - Department of Education https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/kpep-and-kituwah/ – Kituwah Preservation and Education Program - Language resources https://ebcikpep.com/cherokee-language-resources/ – About Western Carolina Cherokee Studies Department https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/cas/social-sciences/anthsoc/cherokee-studies/index.aspx – Cherokee Phoenix Article: Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians join to preserve language, culture: https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/language/cherokee-nation-eastern-band-of-cherokee-indians-join-to-preserve-language-culture/article_6b768c3a-efac-11eb-ae81-bf3ebd0d35d2.html Cree – Public website for Canadian Indigenous community videos https://www.isuma.tv/search/node/cree – SayItFirst youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@sayitfirst/videos Wampanoag – About Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project https://www.wlrp.org/ Dakota – Information about different dialects and where they are spoken on Tribal website https://lscwoo.com/our-story/our-language/ – Outlines current issues of further declining numbers of Dakota speakers, down to 50 in 2022. Also focuses on revitalization. https://nativesciencereport.org/2022/01/new-research-center-focuses-on-revitalizing-the-dakota-language/ – Dakota Language Study at University of Minnesota https://cla.umn.edu/ais/undergraduate/degree-programs-and-courses/ba-dakota-language – “Translated Nation: How Dakota Values Persevered through Assimilation” Translated-nation-how-dakota-values-persevered-through-assimilation – “Dakhóta iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO) is a nonprofit organization of dedicated Dakota community members, language learners and speakers.” The site explains the status of the Dakota language today and education efforts throughout communities. https://dakhota.org/status-of-dakota-language/ – Dakota language speaker interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODMYxtYR9vs – The Dakota Language Project- lapi Oaye newspaper information: https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/kvigil/iapi-oaye – Santee Sioux Tribal Website (timeline) http://santeesiouxnation.net/history-and-culture.html
Bibliography
Bureau of Indian Affairs. “Native Language Revitalization.” Literature Review. August, 2023.
https://www.bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/inline-files/bia_native_american_revitalization_lit_review_draft_08182023.pdf.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “Cree Language Interactive.” Accessed December 6, 2023.
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/original-voices/cree.
“Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians join to preserve language, culture.” Cherokee Phoenix, July 20, 2021.
https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/language/cherokee-nation-eastern-band-of-cherokee-indians-join-to-preserve-language-culture/article_6b768c3a-efac-11eb-ae81-bf3ebd0d35d2.html.
Clifford Canku, Šišoka Duta, Raine Cloud, et al. “Unlocking a Hidden History of Dakota Language and Culture within The Word Carrier.” Translations. Accessed November 28, 2023.
https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/kvigil/iapi-oaye.
Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye. “Status of Dakota Language.” Accessed November 28, 2023.
https://dakhota.org/status-of-dakota-language/.
Lower Sioux Cwoo. “Our Language.” Accessed November 28, 2023.
https://lscwoo.com/our-story/our-language/.
Mifflin, Jeffery. “Saving a Language.” MIT News Magazine. April 22, 2008.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2008/04/22/220796/saving-a-language/
National Geographic Society. “Sequoyah and the Creation of the Cherokee Syllabary.” Last modified October 19, 2023.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html.
Official Government Website of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “New Kituwah Academy.” KPEP and Kituwah. Accessed November 28, 2023.
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/kpep-and-kituwah/.
Plimoth Patuxet Museums. “Wampum Belt.” Accessed December 1, 2023.
https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-2/wampum-belt#:~:text=Wampum%20belts%20were%20often%20worn,stories%20on%20to%20future%20generations.
Santee Dakota Nation. “Santee Sioux Nation – History and Culture.” Accessed December 6, 2023.
http://santeesiouxnation.net/history-and-culture.html.
Strong, Walter. “A question of legacy: Cree writing and the origin of the syllabics.” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, June 2, 2020.
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/a-question-of-legacy-cree-writing-and-the-origin-of-the-syllabics/.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Cherokee Language.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed November 26, 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cherokee-language.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. “Education.” Accessed December 6, 2023.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/site-search?keys=abraham%20lincoln&sort_by=search_api_relevance&items_per_page=10&page=17
Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project. “Project History.” Accessed November 25, 2023.
https://www.wlrp.org/project-history.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Francelia Walsh-Despeignes (‘24) works as a Student Museum Educator at the Mead Art Museum, honing her teaching skills with K-12 groups in preparation for her career in education. As a Black Studies and Education Studies double major Francelia keeps anti-racist pedagogy at the forefront of all her work.
Ellie Stolzoff (‘27) is a Native student at Amherst College and a tribal member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She is a prospective American Studies (concentration in Native Studies) and LJST double major who hopes to use her lived experiences and subject knowledge to enter the field of Indigenous rights law.
* YouTube links to audiovisual materials shared by other creators are included in these resources. For more information, including for captioning and transcripts of the suggested audiovisual materials, please contact the audio/video content creators.
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