Northern Michigan Conference Focuses on Language Instruction:
By B. Brookes, Michigan Freelance Writer

Northern Michigan University (NMU) recently hosted its “13th Annual Upper Peninsula Indian Education Conference” on Monday, September 21, 2009. The free conference was designed for those who work with American Indian students K-12 and above, their families, those who teach about American Indians and those who simply wanted to learn more.

NMU’s Director of the Center for Native American Studies, April Lindala, explained “this year’s conference had a special focus on language revitalization and preservation and for the first time ever, regional language teachers were the main focus of the conference.” During his opening address, NMU’s President Dr. Leslie E. Wong emphasized the “importance of keeping one’s roots yet being open and flexible to change.”

Among the first presenters in language revitalization and preservation were Maxine Cole and Elvera Sargent from the Akwesasne Freedom School. The Akwesasne Freedom School was founded in 1979 out of a conflict by Mohawk parents who were concerned about their culture and language disappearing. The program grew and includes a full language immersion program.

The school teaches K-12 students with a curriculum that is focused on teaching not only language, but language as a way of living for the Mohawk people. With an emphasis on “hands-on” learning through participating in traditional ceremonies, seasonal traditions, cultural teachings, activities, crafts, songs, dance and sports, the children become full individuals with a strong sense of pride and identity. In addition, the Akwesasne Freedom School also utilizes the latest technology as a tool to teach the children including computers and listening devices that play language.

During the presentation on the school curriculum and structure, Maxine Cole stated that “the school’s administration runs on a ‘one bowl and one spoon concept,’ where all staff are equally paid and there is no school principal.” Parental involvement is continuous throughout the year and starts with a “welcome back ceremony” at the beginning of the school year, whereupon the parents hand the child back to the teachers in front of the community and state that child’s gifts out loud.

“Finding parents who are fluent speakers to be with their children after school is always a challenge,” stated Maxine. “In the case where parents do not speak, we find and seek out grandparents and volunteers to fill that need. It’s all about the importance of the family being together and the sense of community for us,” says Maxine Cole.

The need for more printed materials, teaching tools and books in language was also communicated during the conference making the market for these items a good one. NMU students Stephanie Bajema and Majorie O’brien presented a prototype set of teaching Anishinaabemowin Flashcards that they designed as part of a combined illustration and language student project.

In regards to teaching language to teenagers, Gary Loonsfoot and Earl Otchingwanigan of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community spoke about the challenges of keeping today’s youth interested in learning language. Earl Otchingwanigan emphasized that “today’s teacher is competing for attention from the television, video, hip hop, computer and video game culture. All these things distract the youth from their culture and language and it is a challenge to keep them focused while in classes.” Gary Loonsfoot emphasized the importance of not getting caught up in the debate of regional dialects within your teaching program and to try to gain a consensus among your instructors to agree to use one dialect while in class.

For teaching adults, Ted Holappa, Director of the Bay Mills Community College Immersion and Traditional Medicine Program, spoke about the difference between “language acquisition versus language learning” and that one should ask “does your language program lead to the production of fluent speakers?” Bay Mills Community College in Michigan runs a six year immersion program which includes 234 college credits and 2000 hours of input from fluent speakers. Ted stated that “it takes approximately twenty five years to revitalize a language in a community and with this fact we are not producing speakers at the rate of which we are losing speakers.” Bay Mills Instructors Barbara Nolan and Rose Trudeau held a live immersion class with the audience to illustrate the technique.

“A common theme among all the presenters was that of engaging student’s five senses in hands-on manner” explained NMU Anishinaabemowin Instructor Kenn Pitawanakwat.

“Hands-on” engagement was a major basis of the Keynote Presentation with Bernadette and Maheengun Shawanda from the Great Lakes Cultural Camps and the Ontario Recreational Canoeing and Kayaking Program. With a focus on outdoor activities, the GLCC program uses “experiential learning, cultural learning and adventure learning” as ways to teach the youngsters how to respond effectively to difficult situations as well as re-connect them to the land. “We come from a canoe culture,” says Maheengun. “We tell them to leave their cell phones off and it’s only then, that the students start to listen and let the land become a part of who they are as a people.”

The final session included the University of Michigan Language Instructors Dr. Margaret Noori and Howard Kimewon, Chippewa Tribal College Instructor George Roy and NMU instructor Ken Pitawanakwat. Margaret Noori explained that in teaching college level adults you need to emphasize that the “adults need to engage in action to learn the language versus just listening, like with children.” Examples of lesson plans and the Ojibwe.net web page were shown to the audience. All three programs utilize technology to teach, record and archive lessons for use by the entire community.

The common thread between all presentations was the importance of engaging students learning styles by offering experiential learning options which both teach language and also teach a way of living. Technology also appeared to be a tool that when used correctly can be a great asset to a program. George Roy closed the session by saying “without language there is no culture, it’s an Anishinaabe way of thinking and living.”