Lower Sioux Immersion
The purpose of Cansayapi's 2022/2023 Immersion grant request is to leverage and strengthen the new foundation for Dakota language learning and speaking we've built, thanks in part to continuous MIAC support over the past five years. Previous MIAC grants have helped us with hiring the first Dakota language teacher in our community and adding Dakota language classes into the two nearby high schools and supporting staffing and activities within basic operations in our new immersion school, CWOO. With MIAC's continued support in 2022 and 2023, we will focus this immersion grant on increased language teaching and assessment capacities within CWOO. This work is essential because the status of our language is Nearly Extinct and Critically Endangered.
increase our CWOO children's language acquisition by: Develop. adopt, and implement a new Dakota language assessment tool for CWOO children within our existing assessment software. Add cultural language immersion activities within the CWOO school curriculum and family activities. The new teacher will plan and lead these cultural language-based activities, such as learning about the inipi (sweat lodge) with the CWOO children and families. Continue to strengthen their own language capacity and understanding of its cultural context by partnering with a new part-time Master Speaker, increase CWOO families' Dakota use from weekly to daily by Conduct formative and summative language assessments of our adult language learners.
Tribal/ Private