Motivating Youth & Children to Use Native Languages

Registration is Closed at this time.

October 21-22, 2013

BuffaloThunder Resort & Casino

(Pueblo of Pojoaque) Santa Fe, New Mexico

Below are Bios, Topics and links to video presentations for ILIS 2013 Presenters. We have uploaded the video presentations from ILIS 2013 onto ILI’s YouTube Channel. A direct link to those video presentations will be displayed under each Presenter’s topic. Some presentations will not be posted to respect the privacy of the language content or unavailability.

For a summary of ILIS 2013 click here.

ILIS 2013 PRESENTATIONS

Kawennehente Toni Cook & Iakokariio Clute

Kawennehente Toni Cook will present with her six year old daughter Iakokariio Clute (Snipe Clan, Onondaga Nation). Toni is currently the Mohawk language teacher at Ahkwesasne Freedom School since 2005. In 2005, she received the Cultural Award, breaking preconceived notions that immersion students will be academically "behind" others. She graduated from the NTEP at the University of Ottawa. She has worked as a cultural resource technician at Salmon River Central School. In 2004 she worked with Dr. Gerald Taiaiake Alfred in the Indigenous Governance Program at University of Victoria.

PRESENTATION: Getting Kids to Speak their Native Language
“The presentation will convey use of team teaching, role modeling and various techniques to get students to speak the language in fun and innovative ways. Using the Rassias combined with the Total Physical Response methods and other personal techniques, I incite students to engage in dialogue and other areas of speaking such as recitation, announcing and introductions. The classroom environment reflects our Longhouse traditions so that I do not just teach language and culture, but I teach our culture in our language. The classroom walls are void of charts but contain students’ work that I use to teach and reinforce language so that it is more relevant to the students while they learn their language. We follow protocol by doing, speaking and singing. We don't Learn about it. We do it.”

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Gary “Litefoot” Davis

Gary “Litefoot” Davis, Cherokee, President/CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development  (NCAIED). As the President /CEO of the NCAIED he is dedicated to its mission to expand opportunity for Tribes and American Indian businesses. For over 20 years, Mr. Davis has established and led his own companies doing business with Tribal Nations. These opportunities range from acquisitions, casino gaming, hospitality, land development, green energy, construction and pharmaceutical initiatives. Mr. Davis regularly travels throughout North America delivering his message of empowerment through emphasizing the importance of self-sustainability, entrepreneurship, economic development and the importance of culture and tradition. Mr. Davis believes that the unification of Tribal Nations is the key to developing a better future for Indian Country.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Marcella Ernest

Marcella Ernest (Anishinaabe) is a video artist and experimental documentary filmmaker. Her award-winning short film and video projects have exhibited at galleries and film festivals both nationally and internationally. Currently completing her PhD at the University of New Mexico, Marcella has worked with youth for over ten years in film and video production. She is the director of the Future Voices youth film and photography program based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Every August, Future Voices produces the annual Native Youth film festival as part of the Santa Fe Indian Market film events in collaboration with the National Museum of the American Indian.

PRESENTATION: Native Youth and Language in Community Filmmaking

This presentation will be a screening of short films produced by Native youth from the United States and Canada that have been previously showcased in the Future Voices Native Youth Film Festival held during the Santa Fe Indian Market and at the National Museum of the American Indian. Future Voices works with schools and educational organizations to provide film and photography programming and support to teachers and educators. There will be brief descriptions of the various production methods and the tribal organizations we collaborate with. The films exemplify creative use of Native language in community filmmaking to engage youth in expressing themselves.

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Christopher Harvey

Christopher Harvey (Celtic/Canadian) has returned to university after a productive and exciting time as Head of Research and Development at ILI where he was responsible for the design of the Regional Tech-Knowledge Training Workshops as well as research on innovative use of technology for language revitalization. Chris has developed keyboard layouts, font systems, and iOS apps for languages across North America and around the world; his website, languagegeek.com contains software tools for many Native languages. Chris is pursuing a Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Toronto, Canada, and has worked with many First Nations across North America on language revitalization. He has studied over twenty languages and above all has learned some of his Celtic ancestors’ endangered languages.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

No Presentation available

Gerald L. Hill and
Inée Slaughter

Kaihunhatati Jerry (aka Gerald L.) Hill, On^yota’aka Bear Clan (Oneida, Wisconsin) was the 1st Chief Legal Counsel to the Council of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. He earned a BA (special focus on anthropological linguistics) from California State University– Northridge and a JD from the University of California – Davis. He has served as Advisor, Trainer and Reader for the Administration for Native Americans’ Language Grant Program. He is committed to assisting and encouraging all Native people with their language acquisition and revitalization work as well as his own in Oneida. He currently serves as ILI’s Board President since 2001.  
Inée Slaughter is Korean by ancestry, born and raised in Tokyo by Korean parents who enrolled her in the American School in Japan since kindergarten. She was surrounded by Korean language in the home, Japanese in the community at large, and English in school K-12. From grade 7 she learned French in an immersive environment at St. Maur’s International School in Yokohama run by a French order of nuns. She has taught English, French, Japanese and Korean to all ages and has served as interpreter for all these languages. Her personal language acquisition experiences serve ILI’s programs.

PRESENTATION: How Do I Say…?: Learner Driven Language Learning Method

We absorb knowledge well when we have the need, curiosity and desire to know. This motivation is a critical part of a natural process in language learning. “How do I say…” is a workbook providing a suggested structure to self-motivated learners and mentor(s). It complements existing language efforts or as an alternative for those unable to access classes and other community language resources. The material and approach were tested in 2010 by five high school students and their mentor from Tewa-speaking communities in New Mexico. The “How do I Say…?: guidelines and workbook is designed for use by schools, families and individuals. 

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

George Ironstrack

George Ironstrack, Citizen Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Assistant Director of the Myaamia Center at Miami University. Mr. Ironstrack has participated in Myaamia language renewal projects as both a student and a teacher since the mid-1990s. He is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and has assisted in the organization and administration of the Tribe’s Eewansaapita Summer Educational Experience since its inception in 2005. As both a tribal educator and a former public school teacher, George is also interested in the study of indigenous pedagogical practices and specifically Myaamia Neepwaantiinki (Miami Education). Examples of his historical and ecological writings can be found on the blog: Aatotamankwi Myaamiaki - http://myaamiahistory.wordpress.com/

PRESENTATION: “I hope I can become a counselor” -- Empowering Myaamia Youth to Learn and Teach their Language

“The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma began its community effort to revitalize our heritage language in 1996.  Over time, we have made slow but steady progress in increasing the use and status of our language.  Through a combination of careful planning and organic growth we have inspired and empowered many of our youth to take on the responsibility of learning, speaking, and teaching our heritage language.  This presentation will highlight some of central strategies that the Myaamia Center – the central developer of language programming for the Miami Tribe – utilizes to increase language use among our youth.”

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to Part One ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Link to Part Two ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Geneva Navarro and
Mary S. Linn

Mary S. Linn is Associate Curator of Native American Languages at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Associate Professor of Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. Through the Native American Languages collection at the museum, she sponsors various workshops including the Oklahoma Breath of Life Workshops and the Native Youth Video Documentary Workshops. In 2003 with Geneva Navarro, she began the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, a two-day event where 600-800 children from pre-school through high school perform in their languages and submit books, videos, poetry, cartoons and artwork in their languages.

Geneva Navarro (Comanche Nation) was raised in Oklahoma by her grandparents who spoke fluent Comanche. She became a Registered Nurse in 1950 and has worked in Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico for 40 years. Between1999-2002, she helped organize ILI’s Youth Language Fair, an annual statewide event held at the Santa Fe Indian School. In 2002 Geneva moved back to Oklahoma to teach the Comanche language at the Comanche College. She started the Youth Language Fair at Norman, Oklahoma, working with Mary Linn from the Sam Noble Museum. Geneva was honored with ILI’s “Those Who Make a Difference” award in 2000.

PRESENTATION: Motivating Language Learning through Performance: The Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair

This presentation will talk about the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, a two-day event that convenes 600-900 pre-K through high school students who are learning their languages. Performance gives students a way to combine their own interests and their creativity, thus they concentrate on expressing themselves through the language instead of worrying about language particulars. The Fair allows students from all learning backgrounds to participate at their comfort level, even youth from Tribes with few speakers. Performance is a community activity. By coming together in this way, it creates positive feelings and connections that help students when learning gets tougher.

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to ILI YouTube Channel for video presentation

Michael Navarrete and
Marcus Smith

Michael Navarrete is a Serrano language teacher at the San Manuel Reservation in Highland, California.  Of Sicilian, German, and Native Nicaraguan Chontal descent, he received his MA in Linguistics from the University of Virginia. Michael speaks English fluently and several other languages much less so, but enjoys trying anyway. Although he believes language learning requires a lot of hard work and courage, it should be as fun, colorful, and creative as possible.

Marcus Smith is the Linguistic Anthropologist for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, with whom he has worked for more than eight years. He studied linguistics at UCLA, specializing in documenting and revitalizing American Indian languages. In addition to the Serrano language, he has also worked with Chickasaw, Mixtec, and Pima.

PRESENTATION: My Other Shirt’s in English: Creating a Serrano Renaissance

Since its inception in 2006, the Serrano Language Revitalization Project (SLRP) has pursued a resurgence in the use of the Serrano language on the San Manuel Reservation and the surrounding community. Presenters will cover a brief history of the project, its current work with Serrano elders and archival documents, and how these collected sources helped create a dictionary and textbook for eventual instruction in the classroom. We will explore how these materials are used and adapted to reach out to students both in and outside the classroom, touching on approaches to technology, the creation of alternative media, and the renewal of tradition. 

Due to the privacy of language content PowerPoint Presentation and video presentation are unavailable

Anyone interested in copies of this presentation can contact Michael Navarrete by email at mnavarrete@SanManuel-NSN.Gov

Virgie BigBee
Brandon Cata
Beverly Fierro
Laura Jagles
Mary Naranjo
Pueblo of Pojoaque Pre-k Students

Virgie BigBee is from the Pueblo of Tesuque. She has three daughters and lives with her husband Walter BigBee (renowned photographer). Ms. BigBee has been a language advocate, starting her work in 1997 at her pueblo in Tesuque. Presently, she works for the Pueblo of Pojoaque as the Tewa Language Coordinator. In 2011, Pojoaque was rewarded a three year ANA Implementation Grant “Tewa Language Immersion Project at the PPECC” to execute language revitalization. Ms. BigBee’s work extends from Tewa Team Teacher in the morning with toddlers at the Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Center, administrator in the afternoon and Tewa instructor in the evenings.

Brandon Cata is a member of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo where he has lived all of his life. At his time of birth, Brandon was given two Tewa names which are Pin Poe say Ayan and Tsay Oyay Ayan. While living on the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Brandon was taught and learned his tribal ways of life by observing and participating in tribal activities. He was fortunate to be a student of Esther Martinez in the Tewa Language Bilingual Program at the San Juan Day School. While at the San Juan Day School Esther Martinez taught Brandon how to read and write the Tewa language. Today, Brandon is a Tewa Instructor at the Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Center where he teaches the Preschool students ages three to five, how to speak and understand their Tewa language. He is also a talented artist; some of his skills are making jewelry, painting and other crafts.

Beverly Fierro (P’in kaa) is an enrolled tribal member of the Pueblo of Pojoaque and Director of the Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Center. She is responsible for the overall management of the center while coordinating with teachers and other tribal programs to assure activities and
learning materials (lesson plans) are adequate, and age appropriate for children two months to five years of age. She actively serves as a tribal council member and Vice Chair of the Native American Parent Committee of the Pojoaque Valley School District. She is a proud parent of five children.  Beverly enjoys spending time with her family as well as participating in tribal activities such as dancing and cooking.

Mary Naranjo is a member of the San Ildefonso Pueblo; her Tewa name is Sekhapovi which means “Cotton Flower.” Her name was given to her because she born in the month of March when the cottonwood trees bloom. She has her B.A and M.A in the Elementary and Early Childhood Educational fields. Her education consists of 38 plus years as an elementary teacher K-6 and principal. Today Mary is a Tewa teacher at the Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Center. She has taught there for 8 years and continues to teach the Preschool children the Tewa language, as well as their traditional songs and dances.

Laura Kaye Jagles is from Tesuque Pueblo and the Western Shoshone and Paiute tribes. She currently teaches the Tewa Language to Pojoaque Pueblo students attending several independent schools in Santa Fe.

PRESENTATION: Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Program

The Pueblo of Pojoaque established a Tewa Immersion the Early Childhood Center to maximize the impact of Tewa language revitalization by starting with the very young children. The project is funded by the ANA Language Grant for 2012-2015. Due to its unique history, Pojoaque has very few Tewa speakers of Pojoaque Pueblo ancestry. To implement this project, the Department of Education hired Tewa speakers from neighboring Tewa communities, making the project a collaborative and unifying initiative.

No PowerPoint Presentation available

Link to Virgie Bigbee, Brandon Cata and Pojoaque Pre-K Students ILI YouTube Channel video presentation

Link to Laura Jagles, Brenda Fierro and Mary Naranjo ILI YouTube Channel video presentation

Manuelito Wheeler
Jennifer Wheeler
Joe Kee

Manuelito Wheeler was born and raised on the Navajo Nation. He is currently the Director of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. Since taking the position in 2008, he has worked with the museum staff to see the completion of many exhibits and special projects. He was Creative Director at the Heard Museum at Phoenix, Arizona.

Jennifer Wheeler is Assistant Professor of English at University of New Mexico - Gallup Campus. She has taught both English and Navajo language for 20 years. Wheeler received her Bachelor's in Secondary English Education from Northern Arizona University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Arizona State University. She resides on the Navajo reservation with her husband and two sons.

Joe Kee,  Jr., MA, Ed., Assistant Professor of Navajo Language Studies at the University of New Mexico Gallup Campus brings forth his extensive experience and knowledge of the Navajo culture, history, and language. Originally from Steamboat, AZ and currently residing in Gallup, NM. Mr. Kee's professional experiences as a college professor extend 18 years; twelve years at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ and at UNM-Gallup since 2009. Mr. Kee is a torch bearer carrying the Navajo language, culture, and history through lessons, songs, and stories. His greatest joy in teaching is observing his students tap into the language barriers that presently exist between generations.

PRESENTATION: May the Force Be With You: How the Star Wars Movie Got Dubbed in Navajo

The group will discuss the process it took to get the first major motion picture dubbed into the Navajo language—Star Wars: Episode IV. The possibilities from this project are limitless from entertainment to changing the course of history in Navajo language preservation.

Due to the privacy of language content PowerPoint Presentation and video presentation are unavailable