Virginia Indians are once again speaking the language of their ancestors, or at least one that closely resembles it.

Virginia Algonquian came back to life for director Terrence Malick's recent film "The New World." He hired a linguist. who painstakingly reconstructed the language for a number of scenes in the movie.

Thanks to those efforts, it's now being used by tribal members like Ken Custalow, a member of the Mattaponi Tribe. He spoke the language when a delegation of Virginia Indians went to England this fall.

Chief Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock Tribe hopes the language can be taught to adults and young people. Her family retained a few Algonquian words.

Get the Story:
A Dead Indian Language Is Brought Back to Lif (The Washington Post 12/12)
pwpwd

Relevant Links:
The New World - http://www.thenewworldmovie.com

Related Stories:
Virginia Indians set to return from trip to England (07/20)
Virginia Indians enjoy historic week in England (07/18)
Virginia tribal leaders visit grave of Pocahontas (07/28)
Virginia tribal delegation heads off for England (07/15)
Virginia tribal leaders on historic trip to England (07/11)
'New World' brought in linguist to reconstruct Powhatan (03/07)
NYT: 'New World' first necessary film of 2006 (01/20)
Roger Ebert: 'New World' is Pocahontas' story (01/20)
Movie Review: 'New World' stately, but static (01/20)
Chat online with Kilcher, 'New World' actress (12/22)
'The New World' set for debut in Hollywood (12/15)
Review: 'The New World' evocative and credible (12/13)
Variety: 'New World' promising but story falls short (12/13)
Native actress finds second family on Navajo Nation (09/13)
Lakota teen hopes to portray Pocahontas in new film (06/18)
Native actors joining cast of Pocahontas romance (05/20)