Local Partner: Tanan Ch’at’oh
The Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council 2020 biennial report identified less than 250 highly proficient speakers of dinjii zhuh k’yaa in Alaska. The youngest highly proficient speakers are 50 years old and they were the last generation to be raised as first language speakers. There is currently a small group of less than 20 highly committed partial first language speakers and second language learners focused on becoming highly proficient speakers in Alaska.
Tanan Ch’at’oh is a Gwich’in language revitalization project led by an advisory board and staff compromised entirely of Gwich’in elders, scholars, and educators. They began operating a full immersion language nest (daycare) for children up through kindergarten, offering weekend parent classes, and conducting language research, documentation and instructional materials development. The project plans to partner with and provide educational materials to tribes, schools, and educational institutions across the Gwich’in language diaspora. The goal is for dinjii zhuh k’yaa (indigenous language) to once again be the first language spoken among Gwich’in peoples and communities.
We had two 1.5yr old children and two 2.5yr old children in the classroom for the duration of the 14-month program. We had one full time lead teacher and a half time support teacher, as well as an intern in the classroom with the children for 32 hours a week. The children were able to begin comprehending the language within about a month of being in the classroom. The interns learned to speak basic commands and also increased in their language comprehension. The team documented a few thematic sets of commands with elders and built interactive lesson plans to teach the language to the children and interns.
Local Partner:
Tanan Ch’at’oh is a new organization that was established in 2021 to advance Gwich’in language revitalization efforts. The advisory board and staff are comprised of established Gwich’in scholars, leaders, elders and educators who came together to help coordinate and increase work on the Gwich’in language.
