Brianna Bragg, left, and Shilo George explore themes such as Indigequeer identity, Two-Spiritness, disability, boundaries, survivance. Photo illustration by Jarrette Werk and Shilo George
It wasn’t surprising to see so many people dabbing and patting their eyes on Wednesday at the Nkwusm Salish Language Revitalization Institute fundraiser at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula. For a minute, I wondered why so many people in a roomful of some 300 people were so emotional. On the other hand, my eyes were teary, too. I feel the Creator’s spirit was in the room with us when teachers and students from Nkwusm shared their stories about learning the Salish language. Children sang songs. We watched a video from the school. In one magical moment, the stories from Nkwusm resonated with everyone in the room.
The energy in the room felt positively amazing. My associate was able to take this take this video after the conference with Coral Sherman, a 12-year-old, who attends the school. Listen to her story and you will get a strong sense of why the need to save our tribal languages is critical to our cultural survival as Native peoples.
Congratualtions to all the visionaries working at Nkwusm, including Tachini Pete, Julie Cajune and Chaney Bell. A lot of other people work equally hard to help the students thrive. A big thank you for all the people vested in Nkwusm for sharing your vision with all of us.
You can learn more about Nkwusm at Salish World. Go to the Nkwusm web site to find out how you can help save a language.
Jodi Rave
