TEA Center: Reclaiming the O'odham Language

Tohono O'Odham Community College, Sells AZ

Investigators

Abstract

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to promote the advancement of intellectual leadership within TCUP institutions that will support them in addressing the scientific or engineering priorities of their tribes, communities, or broadly of the United States. Linked with this goal is the TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) funding strand, which provides support for TCUP institutions in establishing thematically based centers whose work applies the college’s STEM instruction and research capacity to realize benefits for their identified community. The O’odham Language Center (OLC), conceived and directed by personnel from Tohono O’odham Community College, directly aligns with the TEA Center concept in the significant positive impacts it has on the Tohono O’odham Nation in reclaiming the O’odham language. The OLC employs evidenced-based pedagogical methods while customizing the curriculum for the specific school and community settings. The work is focused initially in three pre-K Centers that have foundational elements already in place, with potential for expansion to other such centers. Instructors advance their own expertise through in situ practice as well as professional development with linguists and language education experts. To contribute to the greater knowledge base, the OLC will disseminate its findings throughout North America. Through the development of the model, a wide range of resources become available that may be used to inform language continuity efforts across Tribal communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.