Language Table/Master Apprentice Project

The goal of this project is to expand Ojibwe language class availability on the Bois Forte Reservation in terms of both the number and levels offered. This project will use local experts and form partnerships with existing language preservation programs to implement a plan to address the revitalization and preservation of the Native language on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. The long term goal s to increase the Oibwe language fluency, proficiency, and literacy of the Bois Forte Indian Community. A local Elder language expert wil be hired at 16 hours per week. The Bois Forte language and Cultural Coordinator and the Elder Language expert will teach apprentices basic Anishinaabe fluency, proficiency, and literacy by conducting semi-weekly language tables on both sectors of the Bois Forte Reservation. By the 13th project month, the Elder language expert will change role to Master and the language coordinator will act as an assistant.The steady language table participants will then be identified as apprentices and will meet together semi-weekly. By the end of the project, at a culture committee meeting, identified apprentices will be, by resolution, approved for recommendation to obtain a State of Minnesota American Indian Language and Culture teaching license for grades K-12.