Seventh International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education

Strand IV: Culture, Identity & Community

Cherokee

Elementary (K-5)

Curriculum and content are not generally created from Indigenous languages or perspectives.  We align mainstream curriculum and its language and content obligations with the language revitalization goals of the EBCI.  We are concerned that materials created in the context of the mainstream curriculum undermine Indigenous language, practices, and perspectives.  We demonstrate that language structure influences vocabulary choice in literacy pedagogy and that math and music materials reinforce language and cultural learning.  We use language neutral materials to develop Indigenous perspectives on science content, and we leverage community connections to create social studies content.  We conclude that Indigenous immersion projects require sophisticated language structure knowledge, management of community resources, and techniques for working with speakers in order to quickly develop multimedia materials for a curriculum that incorporates past and current practices of Indigenous people.