海角大神

Tanan聽Ch鈥檃t鈥檕h is not your typical preschool. Along with the usual group activities, free play time, and naps, children who spend their days here are immersed in Gwich鈥檌n 鈥� an endangered Alaska Native language with fewer than 250 advanced speakers.聽

The approach is called the 鈥渓anguage nest鈥� model (Tanan Ch鈥檃t鈥檕h actually translates to 鈥淔airbanks Nest鈥�). The goal is to get kids to learn an endangered language by exposing them regularly to fluent or semifluent speakers. Indigenous language revival efforts in places like New Zealand and Hawaii have successfully used the model.聽

鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e creating a set of young people who are going to be ... able to carry our language forward into the future is incredibly significant,鈥� says Evon Peter, an Indigenous language advocate and director of the Ch鈥檃t鈥檕h.聽

The challenges are tremendous. With so few Gwich鈥檌n speakers remaining, finding teachers with experience is difficult. Even the Ch鈥檃t鈥檕h鈥檚 lead teacher, Hilda Johnson, is still learning the language herself.聽

But for the Gwich鈥檌n language advocates and parents, the work is not only worth it, but also necessary. 鈥淥ur way of life is so embedded in our language,鈥� Mr. Peter says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rich with knowledge, and it鈥檚 connected to our identity and who we are as Gwich鈥檌n people.鈥澛�

And though the day care has only been running for a year, the rewards are already evident.聽

鈥淭he more we were consistent [in speaking the language], they started understanding us,鈥澛燤s. Johnson says. 鈥淲hen the children come to me and say something in Gwich鈥檌n, it just brings sometimes tears to my eyes.鈥�

This video was reported as part of 鈥淪ay That Again?鈥�听鈥撀�a podcast series about accent, language, and identity in the United States today. Find all of the episodes on our main page.聽