{"id":15044,"date":"2021-08-18T10:08:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T14:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=15044"},"modified":"2021-08-18T10:12:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T14:12:59","slug":"news21-shawnee-tribe-works-to-preserve-language-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/18\/news21-shawnee-tribe-works-to-preserve-language-amid-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"News21: Shawnee Tribe works to preserve language amid COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Zach<\/a>
Illustration by Zach Van Arsdale \/ News21<\/figcaption>\r\n
Shawnee language classes move online during COVID-19 pandemic<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, August 18, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Chase Hunter<\/div>\r\n
News21<\/div>\r\n
news21.com<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Shawnee language is in danger of becoming extinct, but the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and resulting switch to remote education gave it a chance for revival, tribal leaders say.

<\/p>\r\nYears ago, the Shawnee Tribe, based in Oklahoma, created a 10-year education plan to preserve Shawnee, a central Algonquin language. In 2020 \u2013 billed as the Year of the Shawnee Language<\/a> \u2013 it appeared the pandemic might derail the Shawnee Language Program.

<\/p>\r\nReluctantly, program director Joel Barnes moved the program online.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe started just doing some virtual classes, just some lessons that I had made up then,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I came to realize: This is going to work.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nVirtual learning allowed educators to expand the reach of the language while increasing class sizes and learning opportunities. According to UNESCO, only about 100 people<\/a> speak Shawnee.

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State of Emergency – Executive order from the Office of the Chief of the Shawnee Tribe.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nTribal Chief Ben Barnes declared a state of emergency in January 2020, saying that if the tribe didn\u2019t preserve its language, it could mean \u201closing the voices of our grandparents forever \u2026 we cannot wait to act until there is a better time, more favorable conditions.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nTwo Shawnee elders died of COVID-19 this past year, Joel Barnes said, and a third died of natural causes at age 99. The pandemic prompted a sense of urgency to teach younger generations the tribe\u2019s language and culture before it\u2019s too late.

<\/p>\r\nJoel Barnes, who’s the chief\u2019s brother, enlisted the help of Jessica Somerville-Braun and other Shawnee educators. As an associate professor of education studies, Somerville-Braun \u2013 who lives in New York \u2013 helped craft the curriculum for the language classes.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWith this setup, you get a chance to practice the vocabulary, the pronunciation and also the meaning,\u201d she said, which gives students more practice with the pronunciation and makes learning the language less intimidating.

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Eastern Shawnee History Summit 2015: untagged: William Rice TU, Steve Warren UIowa, Cathleen Osbourne-Gowey UCBoulder<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nThe switch to virtual language classes helped educators reach members of the tribe across the country.

<\/p>\r\nSomerville-Braun, whose grandmother was the last of her family to live in Oklahoma, said remote learning expanded the reach of the program.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to connect much more closely and to learn language and culture and be part of this community in a way that wasn\u2019t possible before these online classes started,\u201d Somerville-Braun said.

<\/p>\r\nNo longer limited by proximity to a classroom, tribal members from California, Virginia and elsewhere logged on to online language classes.

<\/p>\r\nIn-person classes used to have 10 to 12 students per class. But online, 15 to 20 students log in for each class, and more watch recordings on the Shawnee Language Program\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>, which has more than 700 followers.

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