Immersive Language School Renews Generational Dreams of Cherokee Culture

Montana, home to nine Native American languages, becomes the second state to fund indigenous language immersion programs in public schools. The same languages were once forbidden, but now they are helping to preserve a disappearing culture and closing the graduation rate gap for Native American students.

To better serve Indigenous students, Durango School District 9-R has created an advisory council for Native American parents, designated specific staff to help support Native students, and developed an Indigenous language course where they can reconnect to their culture by learning Diné Bizaad. Students report that the course is more engaging than learning about Navajo history via a textbook, and the district has shown progress in closing opportunity gaps for Indigenous students, with all of its Indigenous seniors graduating last year.

The Indigenous Teacher Education Program at the University of Arizona trains budding educators to better support students in Tribal communities, with the goal of increasing the number of Indigenous teachers in the school system. Since launching in 2018, the program has produced more than 50 graduates.

Montana's Indian Education for All program ensures that both Native and non-Native students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of local Indigenous peoples, such as through an experiential bison harvest.

Waadookodaading is an Ojibwe immersion school that meets state and federal academic standards but does so entirely in the indigenous language by connecting children to their cultural heritage. The school goes through 8th grade and uses the forest as its classrooms where traditional ceremonies and practices are used to teach lessons. For example, students learn math while harvesting maple sap and wild rice and biology through practicing sustainable fishing and hunting. Community elders play an important role in passing on their knowledge to students and the 100 graduates provide hope for the language’s future

Ethnic Azeri students face disproportionate barriers in achieving university education compared to Georgians. One of those reasons is due to language barriers. Isolated from Georgian society, it's not uncommon for Azeri communities to not speak Georgian fluently. The center has now expanded into a network of multiple centers. One center serves as many as 160 children. It’s working. Some of the centers had a 100% success rate in helping Azeri students enter college.

With the emphasis on teaching English in American public schools, many non-English speaking students can lose the language of their family’s heritage. Hawaii has “language-immersion schools” that teaches children the native Hawaiian language until about fifth grade and then English is introduced. While the schools have preserved the native tongue and its cultural values, there are still challenges for students who face competition in English-dominated secondary education and the job market.

The Muckleshoot Cohort is an Indigenous-led doctoral program in educational leadership that is built around Indigenous culture and knowledge. The initiative, which encourages students to reclaim their Native identities and tackle generational trauma related to the colonized education system, graduated 10 students in its inaugural class.

Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie has repurposed a former residential school building into the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre where students can learn about their Indigenous history and heritage. In the past, indigenous people were sent to these schools and stripped of their language, cultures, and traditions. Now, educators at SRSC are teaching newer generations of indigenous students rediscover their culture.

Teachers in some California dual-language classrooms are coming up with creative ways to help students practice and learn languages during remote-only learning. Across Fresno Unified School District, teachers develop and share lessons, record videos, and have students use educational programs like Flipgrid or Seesaw so students can record themselves speaking Spanish. During some Zoom breakout groups, teachers select a fluent language speaker in the group to model pronunciation for others.