Native Village
Youth and Education news
March 1, 2010    Volume 2

Sauk Language Apprentices Making Tremendous Progress

Sauk Original Homelands

Despite losing over 99% percent of their fluent speakers, the Sauk people have worked long and hard to save their language. They began in the 1970s with community-based language classes, and later founded the Sauk Language Department in Stroud, OK.

Recently, members from the AICLS (Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival) visited the Sauk Language Department.  The AICLS is world-renown for their master-apprentice language immersion methods. They rated the Sauk master-apprentice program among the best in the field. Within the first three months, Sauk language apprentices had already passed their first year goals.

The Sauk master-apprentice teams hold half-time jobs as language teachers and learners. They are fully immersed in the Sauk language for at least 20 hours a week. These apprentices will become teachers in an early childhood language immersion school that will open in 2012.


The Sauk Language Department has
Developed and piloted its pre-school language curriculum
 Involved community members in language materials production
 Organized educational gatherings
 Held weekly adult classes and community-wide "language bowl" competitions
Drafted a community course curriculum, a home study packet, and an immersion game booklet
 Met with and recorded sessions with Sauk speakers
 Expanded an audio database
Created a teacher-training curriculum
 Created a Sauk grammar workbook and pronunciation guide.

Current efforts are focused on raising funds for their Master Apprentice program that pairs fluent Sauk speakers with committed language learners.

KīMĀCHIPENA: Let's Come Together
View the Sauk Language Department's short film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOR5CIIO0fI

Read an article by Jacob Manatowa-Bailey, a Sauk language apprentice.
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/jacob-manatowa-bailey/brink

Sac and Fox Language Resource
Translations and audio files
 www.talksauk.com/

Grant Writing for Indigenous Languages
Aimed primarily at U.S. tribes seeking U.S. funds,
http://www.endangeredlanguagefund.org/pdf/grant_writing.pdf

photo: cultural survival

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Backgrounds: Robert Kaufman Fabrics: http://www.robertkaufman.com/

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