BWAKA, the Language
Project
BWAKA, the Language
Project
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BWAKA section links: Language materials Revisions Web site contents Contributors & volunteers '94 Grant Proposal Report '98 Grant Proposal |
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Other links: bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books nizhokmake'wen resources/help Homepage: news & updates |
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Language Project is an effort begun in 1992 by Jim McKinney and Smokey McKinney, both enrolled PBP members. In 1994, Jim and Smokey formed BWAKA, a non-profit organization for the preservation and continuation of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Language.
We received a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council in 1995 for the collecting of linguistic data on the Prairie Band reservation, in the form of video and audiotapes of nake'ndumwajek speaking Potawatomi, and we still continue in building our library of tapes and texts on the language. What you find on these pages is portions of that collection.
Nake'ndumwajen is the Potawatomi word for wise one or "one who knows," in this case, one who knows the language; nake'ndumwajek is the plural form. The word we chose for ourselves, BWAKA, is also a Potawatomi word ("somebody who gets things done"), but stands in contrast to the elders/speakers who are the real repositories of Potawatomi cultural knowledge. We recognize how comparatively little we know about the language, but still are compelled to contribute our time and efforts to preserve and teach the language, before it is lost forever. BWAKA is also an English acronym: Bringing Wisdom And Knowledge About.
If you would like to know more about this project, you might enjoy reading the proposal we submitted when requesting the grant and the final report that completed the project. In brief, we visited the reservation in Kansas in July of 1995 and worked with our nake'ndumwajek for the first time. The data collected in those weeks consist of a few videotapes of spoken Potawatomi, some audiotapes (some previously recorded for teaching purposes), and written texts. The data we collected are being used for linguistic analysis of Potawatomi and for the development of multimedia language learning software.
First, basic tools were necessary, so we developed what we believe is a practical orthography. Rob Malouf, a graduate student in linguistics at Stanford University in California helped us develop our dictionary, which you may see on this website. The dictionary will have two forms: written text and on-line. The written text is in development; we are presently working on our third revision. The on-line dictionary is the second version.
In September, 1995, our website went on line. It has grown considerably since then, and has been a wonderful tool for generating interest and recruiting volunteers. We have several texts in Potawatomi on line and have extended our subject matter to include books and articles on Potawatomi history and culture, a genealogy section and some Potawatomi art and poetry. An outline of the web site is available. Our revisions page summarizes the development of the site.
These on line materials are provided mainly for the benefit of Potawatomi people who wish to learn the language, but who may have little or no access to the nakendumwajek who live on the reservation in Kansas. A secondary but still important audience is non- Potawatomis who are interested in Potawatomi or Indian culture. We share here a small slice of Potawatomi life, and ask that you please be careful in your study and with what you do with this information. Our goals are to always be respectful and to serve the Nishnabe'k (the People--that is, Potawatomis); we request the same of our web site users.
Some Potawatomis have expressed the opinion that these materials should not be on the web. We respect those voices, and acknowledge that determining what is appropriate (or more precisely, not appropriate) for publishing on the web is a difficult issue for us at BWAKA. We desire to make available the best possible materials for learners of Potawatomi, but we recognize it is not our right to give the language away, especially those elements that the tribe still considers private. Vine Deloria suggests a way of handling this issue in his book, RED EARTH, WHITE LIES, which I think makes sense, and which we have largely adopted for our own practice:
"I have a rule when quoting elders and traditional leaders in a book. Basically the stories belong to them and so I do not want to be the first person to put a story in print. I therefore try to find a published account that confirms what an elder has told me and use that version instead of the tradition as related to me by the elder. Thus there are a considerable number of stories that I could have put into this book that will not appear until the elders themselves authorize them to be published." (Red Earth, White Lies, 11)
Since so little is already published on the Potawatomi, this standard may be difficult to keep, but it does speak to the importance of not publishing private information. And it points to the elders, as keepers of the tradition, to be the ones to authorize what may be shared. If something is already in the public domain, then we consider it to be fairly safe game for use on the web. When it comes to traditional matters, however, if we err, it will be on the side of caution.
Family, friends, and students in my classes have pitched in over the years to help on our various projects. A pleasant surprise that resulted from the website has been new volunteers for the project, showing up from time to time in my email. Dad and I are pleased that BWAKA isn't just a McKinney project any more. The Mitchell family, who are so important to language preservation efforts on the reservation, have encouraged us, and contributed to our website. Don Perrot, one of the leaders in teaching Potawatomi among the northern bands, contributes his knowledge of the language. We have active volunteers from coast to coast; our "Contributors and Volunteers" page pays tribute to some, but by no means all of them. Our maillist keeps us in touch with one another. The 1997 Gathering in Shawnee provided a memorable experience when many of us were able to meet in person for the first time.
The past year has seen Dad and I co-teaching a six-week workshop on Potawatomi language and culture at Iowa State; my daughter, Megan, was one of the fifteen students. In February, '98, Kansas public television stations aired a "Sunflower Journeys" program on Native Americans in Kansas, in which Dad was interviewed and BWAKA was one of the language projects featured. And now, with this "grand opening" of our new world wide web site, now entirely relocated on the Kansas Heritage Server out of Lawrence, KS, we enter into a new period of growth (we hope).
Collecting materials on or in the Potawatomi language has become one of our main objectives. People we have met in our work have been very generous and our library continues to grow. We have listed some of these materials on our PBP literature page, but this list is incomplete. Some of these works are difficult to find. If you are interested in this topic, visit our nizhokmake'wen resources/help section where we list language study materials that you can get today.
In March, 1998, we were awarded a grant by the Kansas Humanities Council to study the some of the missionary translations of scriptures into Potawatomi. This will absorb a lot of our energy during this calendar year. We have put substantial excerpts from our grant proposal on the website if you are interested in knowing more about it.
Our goals
Our goals include the publishing of Potawatomi literature (first, children's books) and ultimately the development of an interactive language teaching environment based on the concept of a Potawatomi home. This program will be a combination of educational software and 3-D game environments currently on the market.
For hundreds of years now, our grandfathers and grandmothers have fought to maintain our heritage. Much has been lost, but much of what is important remains. We hope in our day to contribute to the movement in which so many Potawatomi are working: the effort to pass on the values and culture of The People to our children.
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BWAKA section links: Language materials Revisions Web site contents Contributors & volunteers '94 Grant Proposal Report '98 Grant Proposal |
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Other links: bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books nizhokmake'wen resources/help Homepage: news & updates |