A Talking Book
An endangered language flourishes again at a Puget Sound school
Marysville, Washington— After the rumblings of the earthquake subside, teachers and students evacuate Tulalip Elementary School in Marysville, Washington, while administrators check to see that there is no damage to the building. Everyone is safe, and students, excited by this extra "recess," begin chatting, wiggling, jumping, and playing clap-and-rhyme games while trying to remain in their classroom lines.
Surrounded by this commotion, one class of fourth- and fifth-graders stands out. Instead of giggling and gyrating, these kids are concentrating intently on their teacher, who is calling out words and phrases in the ancient language of Lushootseed.
"ey,s-YAH-yah," he prompts. Kids' hands shoot up. "Hello, friend!" a student responds. "us-CHAL chuwh," the teacher says. "How are you!" a student answers.
Eagerly, the youngsters volunteer English translations for words that were spoken for countless generations by the Tulalip Tribes that inhabited the evergreen forests and rocky beaches of east Puget Sound. The teacher even sneaks in a math problem, asking the students to estimate how long their arms and legs are in hweetl (a traditional Tulalip unit of measurement that is the distance from the middle finger to the thumb). Once again, nearly every hand shoots up to answer the question.
What is the reason for this high level of focus and engagement among 10- and 11-year-olds? What motivates these students to participate while their peers play? The students' interest is particularly surprising at this school, whose student population is two-thirds American Indian, a group that typically struggles for academic success.
The reason for the children's enthusiasm is clear to teacher David Cort. At Tulalip Elementary School in the Marysville School District, he says, culture and curriculum are being thoughtfully integrated, with the lyrical Lushootseed language at its center.
"Students learn about our rich local culture, which enhances the self-esteem and investment of Native students," says Cort, the Lushootseed teacher and technology coordinator for the district. "The program also increases the self-esteem and sense of place of non-Native students, as they develop a deep familiarity with the culture and first language of their home."
Located about 40 miles north of Seattle, the 22,000-acre Tulalip Reservation sits on the shores of Puget Sound. Tulalip Elementary School overlooks Whidbey Island, with the Olympic Mountains rising in the distance to the west. There are approximately 3,000 enrolled members of the Tulalip Tribes, which are made up of a number of smaller Puget Sound tribes, including the Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit, and Skykomish. In 1992, there were only 17 elders of the Tulalip Tribes who spoke Lushootseed. About that time, the tribe established a Tribal Cultural Resources Department (TCRD) to preserve the tribe's language and culture. The tribes and the school district began a multifaceted approach that provides culture and language learning opportunities at school and in the community. It includes classes taught by TCRD teachers in preschool and the early grades; high school Lushootseed classes; elementary school classes that incorporate technology and Tulalip language and culture; before- and after-school language classes; language camps; and language classes for community members.
A Tulalip-Based Classroom (TBC) in the fourth grade has been an option for Tulalip Elementary students in recent years when the school is able to hire needed staff. The classroom curriculum uses Tulalip language, literature, and culture along with project-based learning to connect children with their culture and to satisfy all state benchmarks.
One example of a real-world project is the creation of a CD-ROM "talking book" featuring a traditional Tulalip story, "Owl and His Wife Frog." It was created by TBC students for inclusion in a take-home packet for prekindergartners attending kindergarten registration. Because the Tulalip Tribes have given each family in the tribe a computer, the CD-ROM is a software resource that provides young children at home with unique literacy and technology experiences. The project develops and applies students' skills in literacy, technology, art, language, and culture. Students learn to use Macromedia Flash 4, a widely used Web page design tool. The students' enthusiasm is apparent as they show visitors the witty animation and sounds they created for the book's illustrations—a baby frog catching a buzzing fly, a group of ants marching across the screen, a spider spinning a web around the little frog.
The talking book, narrated in Lushoot seed by Tulalip storyteller Martha Lamont was recorded in 1964 by Thom Hess, a linguistics graduate student at the University of Washington. Cort translated the tape into English, and students provided the expressive voices for the English version.
Using common Lushootseed story features, the story describes how the owl and frog acquired their distinctive traits. The CD-ROM tells the story in both English and Lushootseed, with the languages appearing side-by-side on the screen. When the user clicks on a phrase, the narrator recites the words. There is also an option to hear the Lushootseed version uninterrupted. Illustrated by the photo of Lamont, this option captures the authenticity of an elder telling an ancient story. The project has worked so well that it is being replicated in all of the elementary technology classes. To learn more, visit the school's Web site at www.msvl.wednet.edu/elementary/tulalip/home.html.
