We Still Live Here - âs nutayuneân

Anne Makepeace Productions, Inc., Lakeville CT

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the NSF/NEH Documenting Endangered Languages Program, this project focuses on the development of a documentary film that chronicles the return of the Wampanoag language, indigenous to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. This Algonquian language has remained unspoken for more than a century. Since 2000, when Jessie Little Doe received her Master's degree in Linguistics from MIT, the Wampanoag communities of Mashpee and Aquinnah have been bringing their language back from the dead. This is the first time an American Indian language with no native speakers has been revived in this country. Accomplished film maker and PI, Anne Makespeace, is working in conjunction with the Jessie Little Doe and the Wampanoag community to bring this story of reviving language through documentary records to the public. The film, Âs Nutayuneân, which is expected to reach millions of viewers during its PBS broadcast, will enlighten the public about the importance of preserving indigenous languages, and at the same time serving as a model for native communities seeking to re-discover, document, preserve, and revive their own languages. The project will broaden the participation of many Native American communities that are seriously underrepresented, inspiring many to begin or continue learning and documenting their languages, and to partner with scholars who can help them reach their goals.