Minnesota's 2011 Lakota & Ojibwe Language Report (cont.)

Several key findings in the report include:

• Dakota and Ojibwe languages are in critical conditions.

• The population of fluent and first speakers of these languages is small, and only a few first speakers live in Minnesota.

• Virtually nobody who speaks Ojibwe or Dakota as a first language has standard teaching credentials.

• Successful models do exist for bringing Indigenous languages from the brink of extinction.

• More than 100 programs and activities in Minnesota provide exposure to and/or instruction in Dakota and Ojibwe languages, reflecting the importance placed on this effort by language activists, educators, tribal governments and the Minnesota Department of Education. Few of these programs, however, recognize the essential pedagogic requirements for language revitalization, which include a role for strong immersion programming and the leadership roles for fluent speakers.

• Language immersion programs are crippled by a lack of trained teachers; a dearth of curriculum materials; policies that adversely affect the licensure, training and availability of required personnel; and limited funding. Currently, only the University of Minnesota campuses in the Twin Cities and Duluth offer preparation for licensure for teaching across the curriculum in Ojibwe and Dakota languages; neither of these operates for teachers in grades 9-12 and subsequently languages are seldom taught formally at that level.

• A limited number of teacher preparation programs offer tracks toward licensure for teaching Ojibwe and Dakota as world languages, and conflicting federal policies create a situation in which it is difficult to coordinate the varying expertise of fluent speakers, teachers licensed in subject areas, language teachers, and immersion teachers who are licensed to teach across the curriculum in Ojibwe and Dakota.

• Successful language revitalization will require a leadership role from tribal governments and a coordinated effort involving the Minnesota Department of Education, local school districts with significant populations of Dakota and Ojibwe students, and language activists.

• Language revitalization has the potential to make a positive impact on efforts to bridge the educational achievement gap between Minnesota's Indian students and non-American Indian students, among other benefits.

Some Key Recommendations From the Report

The Volunteer Working Group has identified curriculum, teacher training, funding and other needs that are required to revitalize Dakota and Ojibwe languages. The next step is to engage community members and policy makers in meeting those needs. To this end, the Volunteer Working Group recommends:

• The establishment of a Working Group that can build on the foundation already laid to develop a 25-year strategic plan for language revitalization, build the cooperative efforts needed among Tribal governments, Indigenous communities, state agencies, and educators to create immersion schools, teacher training programs, a repository of teaching materials and other resources. This Working Group will also recommend methods for applying world language proficiency standards to instruction in Dakota and Ojibwe; creating teaching materials in those languages for subjects across the curriculum, and addressing barriers to teacher recruitment.

• Continued appropriation of funds for grant support to programs and activities that are currently working in the field of Dakota and Ojibwe language instruction.

• The establishment of an American Indian advisory group for the Department of Education, to provide their perspectives on policies throughout the Department including ways in which languages instruction can narrow the achievement gap between American Indian students and their peers.

The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council would like to thank all of the members of the Volunteer Working Group for traveling all over the State of Minnesota to share their wisdom and insight on the Dakota and Ojibwe Language. Without their dedication and support, this report would not be possible.