PENDLETON, Ore. – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) will offer a trial Umatilla language reading group this summer.
CTUIR Human Resources training is hosting the reading sessions from 3-4 p.m. on Tuesdays starting July 15 for people interested in learning the language. The sessions will take place at the Nixyàawii Education Center at 46251 Naxš Wínataš on the Nixyàawii Governance Center campus.
The class focuses on reading rather than speaking, said CTUIR HR Training Coordinator Gretchen Kern.
“It’s a low-stress way to be exposed to more complicated language use, with no pressure to respond or even understand everything. It’s nice to see how speakers of the language phrase things and to learn from their words,” said Kern.
The group will read texts from the Umatilla Dictionary and will start with Pamàwanib̌a Tkʷàtatma B̌nà Tiib̌àmpa, The Foods Named Themselves in This Land, according to Kern.
No prior language experience is required and participants can come and go as they are able.
The goals of the class are:
Become familiar with reading the alphabet, Look up individual words to see how they line up with the translated sentences,Be exposed to more Umatilla vocabulary and sentence structures andEngage in cultural appreciation through the content of the texts
Kern, who is leading the group, has worked as a CTUIR linguistic for more than three years. Umatilla speakers Fred Hill and Mildred Quaempts will also be available to help with pronunciations and to answer questions.
“I’m hoping that once it gets going, participants will be able to work as a group to look up words without a lot of teaching and that everyone will come up with different ways to read that work better for them,” said Kern. “My role should be to help decode the grammatical explanations in the dictionary, so people can understand grammar and the dictionary in a way that makes sense to them.”
Kern also added that if the group is successful and there is interest for more, they would look to find shareable Walla Walla or Cayuse/Nez Perce texts to work through as well.
People interested in participating in the reading group should email training@ctuir.org or call 541-429-7195.
