Essay #1 Language Renewal
Cherokee Myrtle Driver, a translator at the New Kituwah Academy, takes great joy in the fact that while the school has been running for only two years, it has produced fluent speakers of the Cherokee language. In contrast, while Cherokee Central Schools have taught the language for the last thirty years, they have not produced one fluent speaker, suggesting that New Kituwah Academy is clearly beneficial to strengthening the Cherokee language.
"The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians New Kituwah Academy: Myrtle Driver." Our Mother Tongues. Makepeace Productions.
Topic
In an essay of three to four typed pages of text typed double spaced, supported from the "Language Map" website and other assigned sources, evaluate the specific positive influence, outcome, or benefits of Native Americans working to maintain or restore their heritage language.
Resources
"The Language Map." Our Mother Tongues.www.ourmothertongues.org/Home.aspx, Makepeace Productions. Accessed 25 Jan. 2017.
Littlebear, Richard E. "Chief Dull Knife Community Is Strengthening the Northern Cheyenne Language and Culture." Journal of American Indian Education, Vol. 42, no. 1, 2003, pp. 75-84. Education Full Text. Accessed 20 Jan. 2017.
McCarty, Teresa L., Mary Eunice Romero, and Ofelia Zepeda. "Reclaiming the Gift: Indigenous Youth Counter-Narratives on Native Language Loss and Revitalization." American Indian Quarterly, vol. 30, no.1/2, 2006, pp. 28-48. JSTOR. Accessed 18 Jan. 2017.
We Still Live Here - ÂsNutayuneân. Independent Lens. WGBY, 2011, www.makepeaceproductions.com/wampfilm.html/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2017.
Guidelines
1 You are not limited to the Language Map page you were assigned to examine for class: other entries will also provide further evidence and support for your line of reasoning. Student discussion in class of other language groups may offer useful information for your developing line of reasoning.
2 Drawing on specific details and examples from assigned sources will strengthen the essay.
3 Follow MLA format and documentation style for the required internal citation and works cited list, as it is presented in Wilhoit's Writing from Readings, drawing on MLA guidelines. Missing signal phrases and dropped quotations will result in points deducted from your score: 5 points will be deducted for each such error.
4 Please use a standard font (preferably Calibri, Calibri Light, or Arial) and limit font size to 10 or 11. Also delete the extra space between paragraphs, and use standard one inch margins.
5 Proofread to eliminate errors that weaken coherence, confuse the reader, and lower the essay's score.
In response to the topic, make a claim concerning the value of language restoration efforts and support it with reasoning and evidence from assigned sources. For example, many language learners report a strengthening of identity as well as other connections to their heritage culture as a result of working to learn a tribal language.