Blackfeet college combats COVID-19 with free community language classes

The yearlong COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent death tolls – more than 500,000 across the United States and Indian Country — underscore the need for a new Native virtual language class. The Blackfeet Community College now offers a free class to anyone whether enrolled at the school or not.

Already, more than 500 people have signed up for the Online Piikani Language course, and registration is still open to the public.

For many Indigenous communities, the older generations still speak a tribal language and may be the only source of historical and cultural knowledge. This poses a problem in many tribal communities. “The risk for severe illness and death with COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk,” according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

“COVID-19 has just been so detrimental in so many different ways in our community. It’s a threat to our Blackfeet Tribal language. If our elders are at risk, then the culture and language are at risk.”

– Blackfeet Community College President Karla Bird.

Experts agree that the free Online Piikani Language class is a preventative measure, which can potentially save and restore culture, Indian education.

“COVID-19 has just been so detrimental in so many different ways in our community,” said Blackfeet Community College President Karla Bird. “It’s a threat to our Blackfeet Tribal language. If our elders are at risk, then the culture and language are at risk,” she told Buffalo’s Fire.

The college, located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northern Montana, recently received a $150,000 grant from the American Indian College Fund, which covers the costs of the open classroom and free language lessons for the public.

“In the grant we wanted it to be completely free; we wanted to eliminate all barriers for anybody that wanted to access their language.”

– Blackfeet Community College President Karla Bird.

The college announced on its Facebook page in February that it would be offering the instruction to “provide an introduction to the language, culture, and philosophy of the Piikani people.”

The Piikani Language Course consists of two six-week-long sessions. The first session started Feb. 23 and goes until April 1, with classes live from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The class sessions are being offered online via Zoom meeting. “In the grant we wanted it to be completely free; we wanted to eliminate all barriers for anybody that wanted to access their language,” Bird said.

The college Facebook post attracted not only tribal members within the community but also tribal members that live off the reservation, including citizens of the sister tribes in Canada. Professors and linguists from across the nation have joined the class as well.

Although the class started Feb. 23, Bird said, “Those taking it for individual learning are still welcome to join.”

“We don’t know everything, because of the way our culture is, we learn as we graduate up. The more you can retain, the more knowledge is given to you.”

– Treyace YellowOwl, a teacher for one of language class sessions.

The class sessions are recorded and will be available at the Blackfeet Community College digital library. However, the past sessions may not be immediately available to the public, according to Bird.

Leonard Bastien-Weasel Traveller, former chief of the Piikani Tribe in Alberta, is the instructor for the first session. The second session will be taught by Treyace YellowOwl, a 23-year-old fluent Piikani speaker and teacher in the Blackfeet community.

The main goal for teaching the class, especially for community members, said YellowOwl, is just to learn the language. “I hope I spark interest in all the people in our community.”

YellowOwl attended The Piegan Institute, an alternative school in the community that’s been on a mission to research, protect and preserve traditional language. YellowOwl spoke to Buffalo’s Fire about how she was taught traditional ways, saying, “We don’t know everything, because of the way our culture is, we learn as we graduate up. The more you can retain, the more knowledge is given to you.”

“It was really scary to think about my grandparents dying. There are still things that I need to learn from my grandpa.”

– Treyace YellowOwl, a teacher for one of language class sessions.

“It was really scary to think about my grandparents dying. There are still things that I need to learn from my grandpa,” YellowOwl said. She mentioned how devastated the Navajo Nation was after the pandemic virus hit the tribe, with many of the deaths claiming elders and grandparents.

Although the Blackfeet Tribe is smaller than the Navajo Nation, the community has suffered loss from the pandemic as well, with almost 1,400 confirmed cases and 47 deaths, according to the Blackfeet Covid-19 Incident Command.

YellowOwl emphasized that language revitalization can be as simple as starting at home. “Elders are precious, start reaching out and learning from them. If you have grandparents go talk to them.” she said.

For more information about the Online Piikani Language Course, call the Blackfeet Community College at (406)338-5441 with the extension 2202 or email karla.bird@bfcc.edu.

JoVonne Wagner is a Blackfeet tribal citizen majoring in Journalism at the University of Montana, Missoula. Contact her at jovonnewagner@gmail.com.