Regina Yarlott is a kindergarten teacher at the Crow Agency Public School. She teaches her students math and reading, alternating between English and the Apsáalooke language.
Yarlott has been teaching for more than 22 years.
"When I was first teaching way back in the day, I used to have like maybe eight or nine speakers, fluent speakers," Yarlott says. "And then as the years have progressed, it dwindled to like, maybe five, and three, two, then I get one … and then I haven't had any for a while. So that's kind of scary."
That sentiment is at the heart of the Early Childhood Tribal Language Summit at Montana State University this week. The event drew over 100 educators, language speakers and community members from Montana’s seven tribal nations, Canada and the western U.S.
Executive Director of the Chippewa Cree Language Revitalization initiative Dustin Whitford gave the keynote address. He shared a concern passed down from his family.
"They're going to say, OK, speak your language, sing a song, conduct a ceremony in your language. If you can't do that, then the government won in their job to assimilate us," Whitford said in his address.
Event organizers say the goal is to allow educators and linguists to share knowledge for teaching Native languages to budding generations. This is an issue that the state Legislature is concerned with, too.
Director of Montana’s Office of Indian Affairs, Misty Kulh says, "Governor Gianforte definitely understands the importance of preserving and renewing Indigenous languages."
She pointed to legislative efforts led by state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy to bolster the state’s Indian Language Preservation Program. That’s a policy which allows partnering school districts to preserve and teach Indian languages to students.
The summit is developed by a variety of stakeholders, including the Native American Head Start Collaboration Office. They hope to continue the work and develop partnerships across the country to support children learning the language of their ancestors.
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