Endazhi-Ojibwemonotaadiying-Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
The goal of this project is teacher training through the Master/Apprentice approach to language proficiency in concurrence with observation and lesson pilot at Head Start and regional language immersion sites. The objectives of this project are to increase the Ojibwe language and cultural proficiency in two apprentices and fluency in two master speakers and to partners with the Language Preservation Group and Red Lake Head Start to integrate Master/Apprentice teams into the Head start site, while also supporting the Head Start objectives of child development and school readiness. The Red Lake Band expects that pedagogical framework will be identified and guided by values articulated by its Elders and speakers. They will create oral fluency tools to measure language growth in apprentices and in community participants to increase the capacity and ability to teach language in a new domain of immersion education. With this project, there will be increase in the visibility and immersion readiness to speak and learn the Ojibwe language in the elementary school setting. There will also be an increase in Ojibwemowin spoken by parents, youth, and increase in attendance at language events. This will be accomplished by the following objectives (1) The training and implementation of a Master/Apprentice teams who will be assigned sixteen hours per week of one-on-one language learning activities with the rest of their time devoted to observations at Head Start sites, regional Ojibwe language immersion schools, and the completion of Child Development Associate Certificate, which is an 120 hour course. An advisory committee will be assembled to oversee the language revitalization initiatives in Red Lake, made of both Master/Apprentice teams, Elders, language speakers, an Ojibwe teacher, a facilitator, and the project coordinator. This committee will meet monthly with data gathered and processed during such meetings. The second objective of this is to provide Total Physical Response training to teachers, advisory committee members, and additional staff using those staff already training in this technique of instruction.
Our Masters, Apprentices, and Coordinator were busy with the following activities that address both objectives: Continuously building rapport: teams continue to work daily on builing rapport withint the master/apprentice team plus the other immersion school team members, engaged in weekly one on one Master/Apprentice language activities, engaged in weekly regional immersion site observations and test lesson pilots, visited Waadookodaading immersion school in March, engaged in regular Head Start observations, engaged in regular M/A group check ins with coordinator to discuss individual and group progress, worked regularly on CDA training, and partipated in regular Advisory Committee meetings. Two masters, two apprentices and one coordinator were servied by this project directly in participating in these activities towards project goals and objectives. During the Advisory Committee meetings, ten elder and three additional administrative staff were served by engaging in progressive movement forward with immersion site and other Ojibwemowin revitalization efforts.