Many Native American languages are in danger of extinction, and The Northwest Indian Language Institute (NILI) is trying to do something about it. Janne Underriner, NILI's director, is passionate about addressing the need for Native American language restoration, especially among Northwest tribes. "The language situation in the Northwest is fragile..." she said. "We have so many languages here ... there were at least 29 languages spoken in what is now the state of Oregon, over 90 in California, upwards of 30 or so in Washington... and all of them are fragile or no longer spoken." Underriner, who is a linguist, adds, "We need to be very specialized and our linguists have to be pretty facile with languages. Those of us who have studied these languages haven't just studied one; we try to learn as many as possible. That's just what we do, and I wish I could do it more!"

Janne Underriner is NILI's director.

KLCC's Ruth Koenig produced this report on NILI.

Language restoration is the process of reviving a dying language. The majority of Native American languages are kept alive by only a handful of elders or even a single speaker. This tenuous situation is rooted in a federal compulsory educational system that forced tribal members across the nation into "Indian schools" that were often founded by missionaries. Destroying indigenous languages and relocating tribes away from their homes and onto reservations were key actions the federal government took to gain control of Native American lands.

NILI was founded in 1997 as an answer to tribal requests for Native language teacher training. The non-profit program offers training and consultation services to regional tribes and is affiliated with the University of Oregon Department of Linguistics, the Center for Indigenous Studies, and the Center for Applied Second Language Studies.

How restoration works

Underriner describes language restoration as "the turning around process of a language that is slipping away." This process is determined by the needs of the tribe but usually begins with a mentor/apprentice program where elders with native language skills choose teens and young adults to train as speakers. These young language teachers then pass on their language to future speakers through school programs, community classes or radio shows.

Another crucial step in the restoration process is preserving cultural materials such as elders' stories by recording them for archival purposes. These stories are often used as the basis of teaching materials, which serve a dual purpose of disseminating information about language and traditional beliefs.

Jeff Magoto of Yamada Language Center and NILI trains Native language teachers in everything from basic computer skills to generating stories with animation. Magoto adapts Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), which is a model used in second-language teaching. Underriner explains that the teaching models Magoto uses weren't intended to be used by Native American teachers and students. They have to be adapted for each tribe's needs. NILI participants can then use these models and skills to develop their own computer-generated teaching materials.

Current NILI projects

NILI is currently working on-site with the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde in developing curriculum for the Chinook-Wawa Immersion Pre-School, which is a Head Start program for 3- to 5-year-olds. The Grande Ronde Science and Math Youth Project has recently been funded by a discretionary grant from the Department of Education. This will be a school-to-work program for high school juniors and seniors who will be trained to teach their native language to preschool children. The second aim of this program is to help teens transition from high school to college or junior college.

Other programs are in the works for Northwest tribes. The Klamath Tribes are working with NILI on a second- and third-grade language curriculum and culture immersion. And thanks to NILI's support, the Umatilla are starting a charter school in the Pendleton school district. NILI also works with individual Native language teachers from across the Western United States and from Canada.

Recently NILI faculty met with linguistics students who are interested in becoming more involved. Their interests include teaching methodologies, hands-on work addressing tribal needs, and assisting NILI faculty. Opportunities for interested students will be available spring term.