Smoke Signals - SPECIAL FEATURE
Tribe's Language Immersion Program Teaches A New Generation
Teachers, students look to revitalize the Chinuk language in Grand Ronde.
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Leading The Way To The Future Language specialists Tony Johnson and Jackie Whisler have been at the forefront of the Tribe's effort to revitalize the Chinuk
language by teaching a total language immersion class at the pre-school in Grand Ronde.
By Peta Tinda
Kids are smart. They can tell what you're
thinking just by looking at you, or lis
tening to the sound of your voice. So
even though the nine preschoolers in the Chinuk
language immersion class don't quite understand
all the words yet, when teacher Tony Johnson
says "Nunk'-killapai iktaas," all the children
know what it means It's time to pick up the
toys.
"Nunk killapai! Nunk killapai!" The kids call
out and enthusiastically put away the toys.
Five days a week, the children come to the
Chinuk class to hear and learn the language of
their ancestors.
Photos by Peta Tinda
It's the first im
mersion class in
Oregon to revital
ize a diminishing
Native language
that many older
speakers thought
would die with
them.
"It was pretty much though that it was a dy
ing language, but right now there are many
more people learning to speak Chinuk than there
are fluent Elders," Johnson said. "So we're re
versing that process of the language dying."
"It was pretty much though that it was a dying language,
but right now there are many more people learning to speak
Chinuk than there are fluent Elders. So we're reversing
that process of the language dying."
Tony Johnson
Language Specialist
Johnson and Chinuk speakers Jackie Whisler,
Bobby Mercier and Elaine Lane teach the class
with help from linguists Henry Zenk and Janne
Underriner.
Continued on next page
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Watch Me Learn Tribal youth Michael Reyes works on his drawing next to his nametag, which has his name both in English and Chinuk. All the children have similar
nametags helping them to identify themselves in Chinuk.