Indigenous Language Reclamation

WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT

DETAILS: This webinar provided an overview of initiatives in the area of Indigenous language reclamation. Panelists shared about research projects and programs designed to support Indigenous children in connecting to language, heritage, and culture. Webinar attendees heard about what Indigenous-led research said about intergenerational language learning, land-based pedagogy, and the importance of Indigenous languages for early childhood learning.

Q&A UPDATE

Question: When a people lose their language, how do they find it again?

Mary Hermes: You can find your language or one you are connected to by looking to the land of the place you inhabit. Finding other people and classes (online and through tribal colleges) is great.

Question: What is the National Science Foundation document that Mary spoke of?

Mary Hermes: The National Science Foundation science grants are called Documenting Endangered Languages. The document is “Understanding Learning Mechanisms and Language Acquisition Through Intergenerational Conversations in Southwestern Ojibwe, a Native American Language.”

RESOURCES

Forest Walks publications

Engman, M. M., & Hermes, M. (2021). Land as interlocutor: A study of Ojibwe learner language on and with naturally occurring ‘materials’. Modern Language Journal, 105(S1), 86-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12685

Hermes, M., Engman, M. M., Meixi, MacKenzie, J. (2023). Relationality and Ojibwemowin in forest walks: Learning from multimodal interaction about land and language. Cognition and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2022.2059482 

Hermes, M. Meixi, Engman, M. M., & McKenzie, J. (2021). Everyday stories in a forest: Multimodal meaning-making with Ojibwe Elders, young people, language, and place. WINHEC: International Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship, 2021(1), 267-301. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/winhec 

Position paper on Language Reclamation + Relationality (Henne-Ochoa et al. 2020) + commentary

Perspectives: Doing Indigenous language reclamation. Modern Language Journal, 104(2), https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/modl.12643

Additional Articles

Engman, M. M., McGurk, Ó., & MacKenzie, A. (2023). Teanga sa chistin: A qualitative study of bilingual families, baking bread, and reclaiming Irish in the home. Teanga, 30, 169-200. https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/5460/5568

Engman, M. M., & Hermes, M. (2023). Co-operative learning with language and land. American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Newsletter, June 2023. https://www.aaal.org/feature-articles-june-2023-aaaletter#Article2

Engman, M. M., McGurk, Ó., & MacKenzie, A. (2023). Teanga sa chistin: A qualitative study of bilingual families, baking bread, and reclaiming Irish in the home. Teanga, 30, 169-200. https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/5460/5568

Engman, M. M., & Hermes, M. (2023). Co-operative learning with language and land. American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Newsletter, June 2023. https://www.aaal.org/feature-articles-june-2023-aaaletter#Article2

Hermes, M., Engman, M. M., Meixi, MacKenzie, J. (2023). Relationality and Ojibwemowin in forest walks: Learning from multimodal interaction about land and language. Cognition and Instruction, 4(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2022.2059482

Guerrettaz, A. M., & Engman, M. M. (2023). “Indigenous Language Revitalization.” In Paula Groves Price (Ed.), Oxford Encyclopedia of Race and Education. New York: Oxford University Press.