CULTURAL PROTOCOL DON'T SAY: 'THATS NOT HOW YOU SAY IT'
Our language is very much at risk. According to the U.N. an Indigenous language 'dies' every two weeks. We need all the help we can get to ensure our language is around for our future generations. We need every one of our people who decide to make that decision to learn to feel encouraged and supported.
We encourage all language learning participants to adhere to our cultural teachings of humility and kindness and treat one another with respect while you are learning alongside each other. There is no room for saying things like 'that's not how you say it', or 'you're spelling that wrong'. If our langauge is to survive we need to all try our best and sometimes that means we are not going to do everything perfectly the first try.
Remember, the language of our people is taught orally and there is not considered to be one correct way to spell our words in english. Remember that the languages of Indigenous people were deliberately manipulated collectively by a colonial power through federal laws and residential school programs that barred Indigenous people from speaking our languages and practicing our ways. It was not until the American Indian Freedom of Religion Act passed in 1978 that Indigenous people in the united states had the legal right to practice those things. It is an honor that we still have Kaivaviiching'w Elders here willing to share what they can with us. Honor that by treating each other well.