Workshop Award for Documentation of Northern Cheyenne Sacred Language

Suny Empire State College, Saratoga Springs NY

Investigators

Abstract

Perhaps the lack of success in efforts to reinvigorate the Cheyenne language hinges partly on the fact that non-Cheyennes have been leading the charge, using non-indigenous approaches. This project supports training and workshop involvement for two young members of the Northern Cheyenne community. The experience will provide instruction in language documentation and an opportunity for sharing their experience with other indigenous language students and teachers. With this award, there is the unique opportunity for two bright, focused undergraduates, who have grown up in a very traditional Cheyenne community context, to be the informed bridge from the ancestors to those who are yet to come. They have the potential to be essential keys to the documentation, preservation and reinvigoration of the Cheyenne language. This project will build on the linguistic documentation and analysis of the Cheyenne language. These students will develop skills and understanding to address the problem of language loss and stabilization, noting especially the need for resources integral to ground the pedagogy for teaching Native American languages within the speaker community.