Paid internship in Green Bay

The Higher Education Office of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin in the US is seeking a summer intern to assist with language revitalization.

Duties include:

• Acquiring the phonology of Oneida (one)
• Acquiring the pronoun system used in the acquisition process
• Acquiring the a-stem pronouns
• Researching various indigenous communities’ efforts to strengthen their language
• Creating a file documentary on their language learning process

The period is from June 6 to July 29, 2011 and will be for 40 hours weekly. The pay ranges from USD 9.00/hr for undergraduate freshmen to USD 11.00 for graduate students.

For more information, see “Jobs & Internship Positions for 2011.” The link to the Microsoft Word document is “Summer Intern – Language Revitalization.”

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Loss of Oneida Speaker

On September 27, Lorretta Webster passed away, one of the last native speakers of Oneida (one). She began working with the Oneida revitalization program in 1996 when she was in her eighties.

You can read more about Lorretta Webster in the article in the greenbay pressgazette.

According to the Ethnologue, Oneida was estimated to have 250 speakers in Canada and the US in 1991. Wikipedia says there are an estimated 160 speakers, of which only about six learned the language as infants.

Oneida Language Tools provides resources for learning Oneida.

News bits

Indian language preserved on CD (July 1, 2000): The National Indian Telecommunications Institute uses a grant from the Fund for Four Directions to record Comanche.

American Indian/Alaska Native Education: An Overview (May 21, 2007): Article by Jon Reyhner summarizing the history, current situation and issues of Native education in the US.

Language Activists Panel Summary (1996): Article by Jon Reyhner summarizing opinions on Native education policy in the US.

Oneida Indian Nation Works to Recover its Language (November 21, 2006): NPR broadcast by David Chanatry.

Language Preservation/Retention (2003): Article on Dakotah revitalization efforts including a Scrabble effort. Links to “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.

Turtle Island Storytellers Network: Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains storytellers hold festivals and other events to maintain the time-honored crafts of storytelling and singing.