Another nice Spring Day! I hope everyone is having a good Mother's Day. I woke up thinking about my mother who passed in the summer of 1998. I miss her always, but will spend the day with my children and grandchildren.
I have just read everyone's blog and was sad to read that a number of you mentioned this being your "final" blog. I was hoping we could continue to keep up with this process through the summer. Brian, does our access to Moodle end in the summer? I there a way we can continue to access the link to the blogs? Or can we access a News Forum, just to keep up? Or am I the only to have this sense of loss?
I wanted to add a few comments about the Movies project. I really enjoyed the Website review we did for our last assignment. I kind of wish we had done it earlier in the term so we could have been using them throughout. Being busy, I didn't do the searching for them that I should have.
In any case, while the Movies project doen't designed for the same purpose, it struck me how well designed it is. Everytime I try it I learn new facets and hope to continue the work and become more proficient.
The entire technology journey has been an eye opener. There were so many times over the years, that I was totally depending on a tech support department that is no longer available that I have almost forgotten how to teach myself. Its coming along though and the class has been wonderful and motivating. The last time I asked my son for help, his comment was, "C'mon Mom, you were an early adapter. Get with the program -- you can do this!" And, I will.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Niizhwaaswi
It is in fact Spring!! I hear the birds and the sun is shining. Since the last blog entry there has been a wedding in the family, a new grandchild, named after my mother whose name was Margaret, and a First Communion. We are thinking about and making plans for our annual trip to Bad River when we clean and decorate graves and remember those who have gone before us. That great circle continues.
The role of technology in the teaching and learning of Ojibwe -- what a huge topic! I have valued the role of technology in education since the early days of what was then called CAI or Computer Assisted Technology. Maybe it still is called that. I remember very clearly a time many, many years ago a small Indian boy used to come to my office, then in an elementary school. I had an ancient Commodore computer with a few educational software programs, then not much more than computerized workbooks. He would be sent to me during recess when his behavior was such that he wasn't allowed recess, so he was often sad. After working on that Commordore one recess time, he looked at me and said, "I like working on the computer, because it isn't mean to me when I get the wrong answer!" I think of that comment whenever I hear some say that technology isn't good enough because the human element isn't there. Sometimes the human element doesn't help.
That being said, our recent discussion about what teachers need to know and what does fluent mean, kind of informs my response to this question. I really believe that technology can provide some of what is lacking in some communities, given that we have fewer and fewer fluent speakers. We sometimes think in terms of maintenance, retention, restoration and revitalization of tribal languages. I think the use of technology can assist in each of those areas. Certainly it can help in the retention area if the fluent speakers agree to be recorded and make their knowledge more accessible. It can help the communities that have no or few speakers of the language. I really wish that somehow there could be interactive online learning for all grade levels for schools where students wish to learn the language. Classes are available in colleges but are not readily available in the K-12 system.
It is hard for me to think of the potential drawbacks, but I expect the importance of positive human interaction can't be discounted. Also, we now have a variety of dialects that exist. Would technology force a level of sameness, thus losing some of what we now have? A first step might be the development of a consistent scope and sequence for the language, otherwise the research and devevelopment might overlap and precious resources to do the work might not be effectively used. There is huge potential for tribal collaboration with the higher education institutions. As far as I know only UMD has made efforts toward that type of collaboration.
During this course it was an eye opener to use the movies project and to learn about the online resources available during the website review assignment. I fully intend to continue the work on the movies project and the other websites in the future.
The role of technology in the teaching and learning of Ojibwe -- what a huge topic! I have valued the role of technology in education since the early days of what was then called CAI or Computer Assisted Technology. Maybe it still is called that. I remember very clearly a time many, many years ago a small Indian boy used to come to my office, then in an elementary school. I had an ancient Commodore computer with a few educational software programs, then not much more than computerized workbooks. He would be sent to me during recess when his behavior was such that he wasn't allowed recess, so he was often sad. After working on that Commordore one recess time, he looked at me and said, "I like working on the computer, because it isn't mean to me when I get the wrong answer!" I think of that comment whenever I hear some say that technology isn't good enough because the human element isn't there. Sometimes the human element doesn't help.
That being said, our recent discussion about what teachers need to know and what does fluent mean, kind of informs my response to this question. I really believe that technology can provide some of what is lacking in some communities, given that we have fewer and fewer fluent speakers. We sometimes think in terms of maintenance, retention, restoration and revitalization of tribal languages. I think the use of technology can assist in each of those areas. Certainly it can help in the retention area if the fluent speakers agree to be recorded and make their knowledge more accessible. It can help the communities that have no or few speakers of the language. I really wish that somehow there could be interactive online learning for all grade levels for schools where students wish to learn the language. Classes are available in colleges but are not readily available in the K-12 system.
It is hard for me to think of the potential drawbacks, but I expect the importance of positive human interaction can't be discounted. Also, we now have a variety of dialects that exist. Would technology force a level of sameness, thus losing some of what we now have? A first step might be the development of a consistent scope and sequence for the language, otherwise the research and devevelopment might overlap and precious resources to do the work might not be effectively used. There is huge potential for tribal collaboration with the higher education institutions. As far as I know only UMD has made efforts toward that type of collaboration.
During this course it was an eye opener to use the movies project and to learn about the online resources available during the website review assignment. I fully intend to continue the work on the movies project and the other websites in the future.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Ingodwaaswi
Yay!! It is officially spring, but it is still cold. We had hoped to head up to Bad River this weekend to help in the sugarbush, but the weather isn't right for the sap to run well. Maybe next weekend we will take our small grandsons out to what was Porky White's sugarbush here just so they can see what it is like. We've taken them before though.
More good news, I have finally graduated myself from the Elder movie to the Hunters movie. NOT that I am proficient with the language with the Elder movie but progress is being made and each day I listen/watch the entire video, do the reading portion so I can practice the words I don't know (many) and at least one of the activities. I am still just watching and listening to the hunters, but am thoroughly enjoying it. I like to hear the laughter. I must remember the sound of my dad's Ojibwe the most because it sounds so much like him and he passed in 1971, It's probably also because he was such a good hunter.
I am practicing my speech a few times each day and am working on the Power Point to go with it. I still have problems saying it out loud to someone else but am able to verbalize when I am by myself with my mistakes. I am starting to work on that by having post it notes up so I can practice.
I haven't quite known what to do about helping my grandsons to learn at least some vocabulary. My daughter is Dakota (adopted), so her sons' lineage of course is also Dakota. My Dakota vocabulary is almost nil. We finally talked about it and decided we would try to help them learn at least some Ojibwe words and phrases. Thus, post it notes to remind us all.
It is somewhat discouraging because progress comes slowly. Cousin Dana tells me to keep at it, once it starts it will come quickly.
More good news, I have finally graduated myself from the Elder movie to the Hunters movie. NOT that I am proficient with the language with the Elder movie but progress is being made and each day I listen/watch the entire video, do the reading portion so I can practice the words I don't know (many) and at least one of the activities. I am still just watching and listening to the hunters, but am thoroughly enjoying it. I like to hear the laughter. I must remember the sound of my dad's Ojibwe the most because it sounds so much like him and he passed in 1971, It's probably also because he was such a good hunter.
I am practicing my speech a few times each day and am working on the Power Point to go with it. I still have problems saying it out loud to someone else but am able to verbalize when I am by myself with my mistakes. I am starting to work on that by having post it notes up so I can practice.
I haven't quite known what to do about helping my grandsons to learn at least some vocabulary. My daughter is Dakota (adopted), so her sons' lineage of course is also Dakota. My Dakota vocabulary is almost nil. We finally talked about it and decided we would try to help them learn at least some Ojibwe words and phrases. Thus, post it notes to remind us all.
It is somewhat discouraging because progress comes slowly. Cousin Dana tells me to keep at it, once it starts it will come quickly.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Naanan
Well, its not officially spring yet and it is STILL cold. I can see the maple tree in my yard and it is not running sap yet. We need cold nights and warm days for the sap to run. I am late in getting this entry in; I have been busy with the work for Nedra and Diane as well as bugging my clan brother Dana for help with my speech. Yesterday, he just told me, "Look, Call me next week. In the meantime practice, practice, practice. Try to make sure you know the meaning of the words." I knew that much without using up my cell minutes.
When Brian listed the assignments I was glad because I thought I had the easiest. Just define methodology and syllabus. Of course he played a trick on me because its harder than it looks. Chapter 3 appears to have multiple confusing definitions, so I will just include a lot of what it says about methodology direct from the chapter. A number of theorists were cited. The definitions started with the work of Edward Anthony who had 3 definitions as follows: (1) approach, which was defined by a set of theoretical principals; (2) method, which was a procedural plan for presenting and teaching the language; and (3) technique, which involved strategies for implementing the methodological plan. Westphal is cited frequently in this section and adds the following definitions: The syllabus refers to the subject matter content of a given course or series of courses in which it is presented; the approach is, ideally the theoretical basis or bases which determine the ways in which the syllabus is treated; a strategy or technique is an individual instructional activity as it occurs in the classroom. Examples of syllabi that are mentioned include a literary syllabus, a grammatical syllabus, or a functional/task based syllabus. Westplal stresses the importance of alignment of approach w/ syllabus / w/ methods. A lack of alignment would occur if a teacher used a literary syllabus with a grammar-translation approach and learning strategies based primarily on translatin.
Other theorists define methodology as a "task hierarchy" and the differences in major methodologies are in the priorities assigned to various tasks. This is summarized in the following statement: All major methodologies, whether skill- or process- oriented, aspire to the same result: a student who can read, write, speak, understand, translate, and recognize applications of the grammar of a foreign language. Methological labels assigned to teaching activities are, in themselves, not informative because they refer to a pool of classroom activities which are universally used.
It seems that many teachers use an eclectic approach to teaching and learning. There is no "one true way". To go back to my conversation with Dana, one of his comments seemed appropos. He mentioned that if students are learning the language just to get the academic credit, then he tends to focus on writing (double vowell) and reading, less on speaking but if a student's goal is to speak the language, then its listen, listen, listen.
When Brian listed the assignments I was glad because I thought I had the easiest. Just define methodology and syllabus. Of course he played a trick on me because its harder than it looks. Chapter 3 appears to have multiple confusing definitions, so I will just include a lot of what it says about methodology direct from the chapter. A number of theorists were cited. The definitions started with the work of Edward Anthony who had 3 definitions as follows: (1) approach, which was defined by a set of theoretical principals; (2) method, which was a procedural plan for presenting and teaching the language; and (3) technique, which involved strategies for implementing the methodological plan. Westphal is cited frequently in this section and adds the following definitions: The syllabus refers to the subject matter content of a given course or series of courses in which it is presented; the approach is, ideally the theoretical basis or bases which determine the ways in which the syllabus is treated; a strategy or technique is an individual instructional activity as it occurs in the classroom. Examples of syllabi that are mentioned include a literary syllabus, a grammatical syllabus, or a functional/task based syllabus. Westplal stresses the importance of alignment of approach w/ syllabus / w/ methods. A lack of alignment would occur if a teacher used a literary syllabus with a grammar-translation approach and learning strategies based primarily on translatin.
Other theorists define methodology as a "task hierarchy" and the differences in major methodologies are in the priorities assigned to various tasks. This is summarized in the following statement: All major methodologies, whether skill- or process- oriented, aspire to the same result: a student who can read, write, speak, understand, translate, and recognize applications of the grammar of a foreign language. Methological labels assigned to teaching activities are, in themselves, not informative because they refer to a pool of classroom activities which are universally used.
It seems that many teachers use an eclectic approach to teaching and learning. There is no "one true way". To go back to my conversation with Dana, one of his comments seemed appropos. He mentioned that if students are learning the language just to get the academic credit, then he tends to focus on writing (double vowell) and reading, less on speaking but if a student's goal is to speak the language, then its listen, listen, listen.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Niiwin
Yet another cold winter day! I am looking forward to the weekend when the class gets together. I feel like I am hibernating and not getting out much. Our four-legged brothers and sisters who are smart enough to sleep through these cold months at least lose weight. Mostly I have been sitting in, looking out, and eating, thus gaining weight instead of losing.
Our task for this week (actually last week I think.) has been to read Chapter 2 of the Hadley book, and select one of theory to write about. As I was doing that reading, I couldn't help reflecting on what little I have experienced and observed about language learning. In the Catholic high school I attended, it was expected that we would take as much Latin as we could. I remember the nuns always commenting that learning Latin would help with learning other languages which originated with Latin and that learning Latin would help with a better command of English and to be better test takers. (By and large I found that to be true.) My college language was German, which did not have anything to do with Latin, but I enjoyed the two years of learning. I then experimented with French but was not successful and did not enjoy it. More recently, I have observed how my small grandsons learned language. They were fortunate to attend a literacy based pre-school where the reading readiness skills were taught along with Spanish and American Sign. It was facinating to watch. At a pow wow at Bad River when the oldest was in Kindergarten, he was talking with one of the elders, she didn't understand his name so he spelled it for her. When she commented he was smart and could he count too, his response was to ask if she wanted him to count in English, Spanish or Sign. When she said Spanish, he promptly recited the Spanish numbers from 1 to 35. Unfortunately, while they learn it quickly, it is lost without reinforcement. He is now in second grade and his Spanish has almost vanished.
In keeping with my usual style of starting with the end in mind, a quote from Chapter 2, page 76 seems most appropriate. The author discribes research that interviewed language learners who had been highly successful to determine which of the various language learning theories was most successful. The comment was, "... no one theoretical model of second-language acquisition was unambiquously supported, each model was confirmed in some ways by the interview data ..."In reading about each of the theories, once I understood what the theories were about, (that took 2-3 readings), I would get to each one and find parts of each that made perfect sense.
I have gone through each and will provide a quote from each that struck me.
Behaviorism is based on B.F. Skinner's conditioning work. The two summary statements that describe this type of learning, are found on p. 52:
4. All behavior is viewed as a response to stimuli. Behavior happens in associative chains; in fact, all learning is associative in nature
and
5. Conditioning involves the strengthening of association between stimulus and a response through reinforcement.
How ofter are parents/grandparents advised to talk to the children, to read to the children. One of my favorite memories is that of watching my husband with an infant grandson in his lap reading the business and sport pages out loud.
Universal Grammar presented some innate luinguistic properties. These included (1) the ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds, (2) the ability to organize language into a system of structures; (3) the knowledge of what was possible and what was not possible in any linguistic system; and the ability to construct the simplist possible system based on linguistic data to which was was exposed. This all seemed to make sense, but unfortunately the author is this brief summary only used one example and that was that of how questions are formed. The examples that I thought of but did not do further research to see if it is what universal grammar means include:
tense: all language needs to differentiate between past, present, future
noun/verb: all language needs to identify things vs. action
person: all language needs to differentiate between self and others
The authors and theorists quoted to seem to make the assumption that the development of language is limited to humans. I don't think we have a way to know that. It seems that all/most animals have a way to communicate, and there is research on dolphins and their communication abilities. How many of our storytellers have we heard start with, "A long time ago, when the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds could talk and communicate ... ". The biblical stories also seem to posit that there was communication among all creatures prior to 'original sin'. (Sorry, just a sidebar.)
Our task for this week (actually last week I think.) has been to read Chapter 2 of the Hadley book, and select one of theory to write about. As I was doing that reading, I couldn't help reflecting on what little I have experienced and observed about language learning. In the Catholic high school I attended, it was expected that we would take as much Latin as we could. I remember the nuns always commenting that learning Latin would help with learning other languages which originated with Latin and that learning Latin would help with a better command of English and to be better test takers. (By and large I found that to be true.) My college language was German, which did not have anything to do with Latin, but I enjoyed the two years of learning. I then experimented with French but was not successful and did not enjoy it. More recently, I have observed how my small grandsons learned language. They were fortunate to attend a literacy based pre-school where the reading readiness skills were taught along with Spanish and American Sign. It was facinating to watch. At a pow wow at Bad River when the oldest was in Kindergarten, he was talking with one of the elders, she didn't understand his name so he spelled it for her. When she commented he was smart and could he count too, his response was to ask if she wanted him to count in English, Spanish or Sign. When she said Spanish, he promptly recited the Spanish numbers from 1 to 35. Unfortunately, while they learn it quickly, it is lost without reinforcement. He is now in second grade and his Spanish has almost vanished.
In keeping with my usual style of starting with the end in mind, a quote from Chapter 2, page 76 seems most appropriate. The author discribes research that interviewed language learners who had been highly successful to determine which of the various language learning theories was most successful. The comment was, "... no one theoretical model of second-language acquisition was unambiquously supported, each model was confirmed in some ways by the interview data ..."In reading about each of the theories, once I understood what the theories were about, (that took 2-3 readings), I would get to each one and find parts of each that made perfect sense.
I have gone through each and will provide a quote from each that struck me.
Behaviorism is based on B.F. Skinner's conditioning work. The two summary statements that describe this type of learning, are found on p. 52:
4. All behavior is viewed as a response to stimuli. Behavior happens in associative chains; in fact, all learning is associative in nature
and
5. Conditioning involves the strengthening of association between stimulus and a response through reinforcement.
How ofter are parents/grandparents advised to talk to the children, to read to the children. One of my favorite memories is that of watching my husband with an infant grandson in his lap reading the business and sport pages out loud.
Universal Grammar presented some innate luinguistic properties. These included (1) the ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds, (2) the ability to organize language into a system of structures; (3) the knowledge of what was possible and what was not possible in any linguistic system; and the ability to construct the simplist possible system based on linguistic data to which was was exposed. This all seemed to make sense, but unfortunately the author is this brief summary only used one example and that was that of how questions are formed. The examples that I thought of but did not do further research to see if it is what universal grammar means include:
tense: all language needs to differentiate between past, present, future
noun/verb: all language needs to identify things vs. action
person: all language needs to differentiate between self and others
The authors and theorists quoted to seem to make the assumption that the development of language is limited to humans. I don't think we have a way to know that. It seems that all/most animals have a way to communicate, and there is research on dolphins and their communication abilities. How many of our storytellers have we heard start with, "A long time ago, when the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds could talk and communicate ... ". The biblical stories also seem to posit that there was communication among all creatures prior to 'original sin'. (Sorry, just a sidebar.)
Krashen's Monitor Theory makes an intriguing distinction between acquisition and learning. Acquisition is a subconscious process similar to the way children learn a first language and learning which refers to conscious knowledge of the rules of grammar of a second language. The author goes on to say that, " acquistion is the sole initiator of all second-language utterances and is responsible for fluency, while learning can function only as an "editor" or "monitor" for the for the output.
Cognitive Theory: First and Second Language Learning Differ The description of this theory was interesting because it described the movement from learning about the language to speaking. the staged development of skilled automatic performance can be interpreted as a sequence of transitions from controlled to automatic processing ... the development of skilled behavior involves a shift with practice from controlled to automatic processing. Novices of all kinds ... must pay careful attention to every step of the procedure, whereas experts do not . I think this concept is critical in moving language learners to speakers. The author continues to cite Schmidt in saying, "for novice speakers, it is indeed the case that speaking sometimes seems to require as much thought and effort as planning a chess move." This concept needs to be thoughfully considered along with what has been often described as the Aniishinabeg learning style, of watch, listen, observe, before trying a new skill or concept. Some of us are most confortable of watching, listening, observing for a really long time before we are comfortable in trying a new skill. But if we aren't comfortable with trying out the spoken language it will take that much longer to learn.
This theory also places importance on meaningful learning, which is relatable to what one already knows and thus can be easily integrated into one's existing cognitive structures. In listening to the Basil Johnston tapes, it is most helpful when he talks about the "roots" of the words. While he does use some rote learning with new vocabulary, he also will share the cultural knowledge that goes with various words. One of the tapes I listened to yesterday included new words for various birds. He included two stories of how the name, Shiime came to be. I may forget some of the rote meanings, but I won't forget those two stories.
Connectionism was the hardest to understand. The clearest statement, was on page 74, numer 2. Learning consists of the strengthening of connections between and among simple processing unitsin complex neural networks. This theory seemed to have its roots in brain based learning theories, that many schools embrace.
So, I was not able to select one of the various theories but found various aspects of each theory to be thought provoking. I hope we have some furthe discussion, either in the class or in future chapters in the continuum the chapter starts with, i.e. rationalist/empiricist.
Note: for those who commented on previous posts -- Thank you very much. I will go back and respond when I finish our assignment for the other class. I keep getting away from the blog and then find I have forgotten how to post and comment and have to re-learn.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Niswi
Its still cold out but the signs are beginning to be there that spring is coming. We are starting to think about our trip to Bad River when the maple sap is being gathered. My relation, Dana Jackson, always has a sugar camp so we get to go there. I only have one more pint jar from last year. We watch the maple tree in our yard and when the sap is running there, its only a couple weeks before the sap is running in Bad River.
I continue to listen to my tapes from Basil -- I like them because Basil often will explain the root words and put his teaching in a context of English grammar, and use the words, phrases and sentences in a variety of ways. He will also sometimes talk about some of the old teachings. (Plus, I seem to be in the car a lot.) I have also been using the Language Now program. I am still on the first assignment and since I am on the low novice level of proficiency according to Hadley, I am struggling to move forward. However, I do the first assigment almost daily. The program recommends 15 minutes every other day, but I do 15 minutes a couple times each day. I have assumed 3 purposes for this exercise: a) to increase our language learning; b) to increase our proficiency in the use of the software: and c) to assess its feasibility for our various educational programs and settings.
I hope the language learnings is occurring, although it still seems to be limited to relearning what I already knew. I am trying to get familiar with the software and how it is used. I have reviewed almost all of the help information. (This is a first for me, because I tend to learn new software by pushing buttons to see what will happen.) I have also been thinking a lot about how this could be used in a K-12 high school classroom or a family based community education class which is my reality. (Or at least it used to be.) A lot would depend on costs and licensing requirements. I can see how it could be used to supplement a classroom individually in a language lab. It could also be used as we are, assuming students had use of computers at home. I will still trying to figure out how it could be used in large group if only the teacher's computer and an LCD projector were available.
I hope to move on to the next assignment in the next day or two.
I continue to listen to my tapes from Basil -- I like them because Basil often will explain the root words and put his teaching in a context of English grammar, and use the words, phrases and sentences in a variety of ways. He will also sometimes talk about some of the old teachings. (Plus, I seem to be in the car a lot.) I have also been using the Language Now program. I am still on the first assignment and since I am on the low novice level of proficiency according to Hadley, I am struggling to move forward. However, I do the first assigment almost daily. The program recommends 15 minutes every other day, but I do 15 minutes a couple times each day. I have assumed 3 purposes for this exercise: a) to increase our language learning; b) to increase our proficiency in the use of the software: and c) to assess its feasibility for our various educational programs and settings.
I hope the language learnings is occurring, although it still seems to be limited to relearning what I already knew. I am trying to get familiar with the software and how it is used. I have reviewed almost all of the help information. (This is a first for me, because I tend to learn new software by pushing buttons to see what will happen.) I have also been thinking a lot about how this could be used in a K-12 high school classroom or a family based community education class which is my reality. (Or at least it used to be.) A lot would depend on costs and licensing requirements. I can see how it could be used to supplement a classroom individually in a language lab. It could also be used as we are, assuming students had use of computers at home. I will still trying to figure out how it could be used in large group if only the teacher's computer and an LCD projector were available.
I hope to move on to the next assignment in the next day or two.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Niizh
It is another cold winter day. I have just spent some time admiring all the class blogs and reading the comments from everyone. The blogs look so professional. It has been all I could do to drag a picture out of a smugmug album, crop it, save it and get it posted here. I guess it is time to invest in a digital camera and start using it, especially with a new grandchild arriving in May. (I now realize that the tech support department at the district were my best friends. Now that they are not available I miss them.)
It made me very sad to read Melanie's blog post re: the passing of Gilbert Caribou. He was a well respected elder. I remember when we were much younger always hoping to change the world for Indian students.
My language learning is progressing slowly. I have some old cassette tapes, made by another elder, Basil Johnston, that I have been using. My car is old enough it still plays cassettes. I understand it costs a mint to change cassettes to cd's, then it will be another resource gone. Feeling reflective today, I was remembering some of the early work in tribal language in the Twin Cities area, the survival schools and the work through the state. In the Dakota community, Jerry Dearly is still teaching in St. Paul and I ran into Carrie Schommer at the bingo a couple weeks ago. Heart of the Earth closed this year, forcing another elder, Johnnie Smith into retirement but he tells me he is still active on the pow wow circle.
Jackie
It made me very sad to read Melanie's blog post re: the passing of Gilbert Caribou. He was a well respected elder. I remember when we were much younger always hoping to change the world for Indian students.
My language learning is progressing slowly. I have some old cassette tapes, made by another elder, Basil Johnston, that I have been using. My car is old enough it still plays cassettes. I understand it costs a mint to change cassettes to cd's, then it will be another resource gone. Feeling reflective today, I was remembering some of the early work in tribal language in the Twin Cities area, the survival schools and the work through the state. In the Dakota community, Jerry Dearly is still teaching in St. Paul and I ran into Carrie Schommer at the bingo a couple weeks ago. Heart of the Earth closed this year, forcing another elder, Johnnie Smith into retirement but he tells me he is still active on the pow wow circle.
Jackie
Friday, January 23, 2009
Bezhig
Boozhoo- This is the first of the class posts. It is a cold winter day -- the class has been great. I hope that my language skills will grow as a result of this experience.
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