Lakota Language Program receives grant The Lakota Language Program at Red Cloud Indian School has received a generous $20,000 grant from the Grotto Foundation, Inc. for a language program planning project called "Michante Etan Wowaglake: My Heart Is in My Words." The grant will support four comprehensive planning sessions among Red Cloud faculty, staff and administration, designed to streamline and improve the already sound Lakota Language Program at Red Cloud's three schools.
The sessions will take place from November 2007 through February 2008, and will result in a written, comprehensive Red Cloud Indian School Lakota Language Five-Year Guidance Plan, as well as key strategies for ensuring that the program is helping to revitalize the Lakota language on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
"This is truly an exciting moment in the development of the Lakota Language Program," said Superintendent Robert Brave Heart, Sr. "Through the support of the Grotto Foundation, Red Cloud will be able to make even greater strides in the preservation
The UCLA Language Materials Project estimates that there are only about 6,000 fluent speakers of the Lakota language today, and that the language is in severe danger of becoming extinct. With a language program spanning pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, Red Cloud is working to revitalize the language by developing fluent speakers who use the language in daily life.
The Grotto Foundation, Inc. works with people from communities of different ethnic groups and cultures who are inspired by their sense of vision and possibility. Since its inception in 1964, Grotto has directed approximately 37 percent of its grant support to Native American endeavors, including community and cultural revitalization. The foundation, through its support, continues to recognize that the renewal of indigenous languages lies within the community itself, empowering them to preserve and restore their heritage language for future generations.
To learn more about the Grotto Foundation, Inc., visit www.grottofoundation.org .
Join us in our mission of educating the mind and spirit of the Lakota people, now and for future generations. Please consider an online gift. |
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