Michigan tribes make efforts to save native language

Two-year-olds at the Sasiwaans language immersion school in Mt. Pleasant get a lesson in the Native American tradition of smudging.
Two-year-olds at the Sasiwaans language immersion school in Mt. Pleasant get a lesson in the Native American tradition of smudging. Emily Fox/Michigan Radio
Two-year-olds at the Sasiwaans language immersion school in Mt. Pleasant get a lesson in the Native American tradition of smudging.
Two-year-olds at the Sasiwaans language immersion school in Mt. Pleasant get a lesson in the Native American tradition of smudging. Emily Fox/Michigan Radio

Michigan tribes make efforts to save native language

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Two-year-olds at the Sasiwaans language immersion school in Mt. Pleasant get a lesson in the Native American tradition of smudging. (Emily Fox/Michigan Radio)

The language that was spoken by Native American tribes in Michigan is nearing extinction in the state. Some communities have no fluent speakers; others have one or two elders who still speak fluently.

But as Emily Fox of Here & Now contributor Michigan Radio reports, there are efforts to prevent the language – Anishinaabemowin – from going extinct, including an immersion school for young children.

Read more via Michigan Radio

via Here & Now