Blackfoot Language and Culture 12Y K to 12
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BLACKFOOT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TWELVE-YEAR PROGRAM KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 12 This program of studies is intended for students who are beginning their study of Blackfoot language and culture in Kindergarten or Grade 1. It constitutes the complete Blackfoot Language and Culture Twelve-year (12Y) Program. PHILOSOPHY Elders occupy a revered spot in traditional Blackfoot society because of the knowledge and “Our language is about connections and wisdom they possess. Many are keepers of relationships. This is the life and spirit of our specific knowledge about tribal customs, language. If we could teach our children this, they ceremonies and history. They are the link to the would gravitate toward it because it is nurturing. countless generations that have preceded them. The Blackfoot language is our universe and our university. If we could teach our children their On the Blackfoot Language and Culture Program language, it would open their lives and they will of Studies Committee, there was an Elder create their destinies over and over again.” representative from Piikani, Siksika and Kainai. – Dr. Betty Bastien, Keynote Address, Treaty 7 The three Elders were: Education Conference, Calgary, October 2004 • Nayisttaipoyiima (Louis English, Piikani) • OMAHKITAPI (ELDER) INVOLVEMENT Naatowaohkii (Mervyn Wolf Leg, followed by Alice Weasel Child, Siksika) Ayo, Iihtsipaitapiiyo’pa, ayo naapi Naato’si, ayo • Mia’nistohpoisskiaakii (Pauline Three Ksaahkommiitapiwa, kimmok nitomahkitapiiminn Persons, Kainai). Aana, naahksisamohpoka paitapiimannann. Ayo Creator, ayo Elder Sun, ayo Earth Spirits RATIONALE care for our old people, let them be part of our lives for a long while … The Blackfoot language predates English and French as a spoken language in Alberta by Every Blackfoot prayer includes mention of the thousands of years. Blackfoot is one of the two Elders, who are considered integral members of most commonly used indigenous languages in every family. As Elders age and become more Alberta. Within this language is a unique spiritual, they address every member of the tribe worldview. This alternative worldview is one of as their own and they become a member of every the reasons why Blackfoot should be studied and family. included in the Alberta curriculum. Not only does inclusion of Blackfoot in the curriculum help Blackfoot-speaking First Nation communities Blackfoot Language and Culture Twelve-year Program (K–12) /1 ©Alberta Education, Alberta, Canada (2010) preserve and revitalize their language, but it also These values are reflected in our modern calendar, helps young Albertans, both First Nations and in which January is referred to as Ka’too or non-First Nations, become aware of the Blackfoot sharing time. Hospitality for visitors to one’s worldview. home is heavily emphasized and a protocol is well established for its practice. The development of greater cognitive skills is an – Bill Heavy Runner and Rosie Day Rider, from added bonus. By studying another language, Kipaitapiiwahsinnooni: Alcohol and Drug students increase their mental flexibility, their Abuse Education Program, Leo Fox and creativity, their divergent thinking and their Kainaiwa Board of Education (Edmonton, AB: higher-order thinking skills. Duval House Publishing, 2001), pp. 14–24. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ASSUMPTIONS NATURAL WORLD The following statements are assumptions that The nature of the Blackfoot language and culture, have guided the development process of this which can be described as relational, is tied to the program of studies: Blackfoot belief that everything is interconnected. • Language is communication. Paramount is the belief that all of creation is • All students can be successful learners of sacred. Human beings, animals, plants and land language and culture, although they will learn features are a part of creation. Traditional in a variety of ways and acquire proficiency at Blackfoot prayer teaches respect for all of these. varied rates. The Sun, Naatso’si, provides life-giving light to • All languages can be taught and learned. all plant and animal life. The water that flows • Learning Blackfoot leads to enhanced learning from the mountains also provides sustenance to in both the student’s primary language and in the animals, to humans and to plant life. related areas of cognitive development and knowledge acquisition. This is true for When an animal or a plant is to be used for food students who come to the class with some or medicine, thanks is always given to the spirit of background knowledge of Blackfoot and that animal or plant. Conservation is a sacred develop literacy skills in the language. It is practice through this thanksgiving. also true for students who have no cultural or linguistic background in Blackfoot and are OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE studying Blackfoot as a second language. ANOTHER NATURE OF THE BLACKFOOT In the past, people helped each other and behaved LANGUAGE altruistically. When times were hard, food and other necessities were shared without cost. In the The Blackfoot ~ Niitsi’powahssin ~ story of Makoyoohsokoyi (The Wolf Trail or Siksikai’powahssin language belongs to the Milky Way), the animals befriended a starving Algonquian family of North American First man and his family and saved them from sure Nations Languages. The Kainai, Piikani and death. Through this story the people were shown Siksika First Nations of Alberta share this the values of sharing and cooperation. language with their North American cousins the Amskaapipikani of Montana. Slight and minor variations occur in dialect and in terminology among the four. 2/ Blackfoot Language and Culture Twelve-year Program (K–12) (2010) ©Alberta Education, Alberta, Canada The recommended Roman orthography for this Community Membership aims to develop the program of studies is the Frantz orthography. This understandings, views and values of Blackfoot orthography uses the following: culture. alphabet sequences consisting of 12 English Strategies help students learn and communicate letters: a, h, i, k, m, n, o, p, s, t, w, y more effectively and more proficiently. a glottal stop: represented by a single quotation mark (’) Each of these components is described more fully a, i, o vowels: at the beginning of the corresponding section of semivowels: w and y, which occur between this program of studies. vowels. A Spiral Progression CONCEPTUAL MODEL Language learning and cultural teachings are The Cree Language and Culture Twelve-year integrative, not merely cumulative. Each new Program, Kindergarten to Grade 12 provided element that is added must be integrated into the guidance in the development of the Blackfoot whole of what has gone before. The model that Language and Culture Twelve-year Program, best represents the students’ language and cultural Kindergarten to Grade 12. learning progress is an expanding spiral. Their progression is not only vertical (e.g., increased The aim of this Blackfoot language and culture proficiency) but also horizontal (e.g., broader program of studies is to have students develop range of applications and experience with more communicative competence and cultural text forms, contexts and so on). The spiral also knowledge, skills and values in Blackfoot. It is represents how language and cultural learning important that the focus be on interaction and activities are best structured. Particular lexical meaningfulness, with special attention and fields, learning strategies or language functions are emphasis being given to oral communication. revisited at different points in the program, but from a different perspective, in broader contexts or Four Components at a slightly higher level of proficiency each time. Learning is reinforced, extended and broadened For the purpose of this program of studies, with each successive pass. communicative competence and the development of cultural knowledge, skills and values in Language Blackfoot are represented by four interrelated and Community Competence Membership interdependent components. Applications Strategies Blackfoot Applications deal with what the students will be Language and Culture 30-12Y able to do with the language, the functions they will be able to perform and the contexts in which they will be able to operate. Blackfoot Language and Culture Grade 6 Language Competence addresses the students’ (Twelve-year Program) knowledge of the language and their ability to use that knowledge to interpret and produce meaningful texts appropriate to the situations in Blackfoot which they are used. Language and Culture Kindergarten (Twelve-year Program) Blackfoot Language and Culture Twelve-year Program (K–12) /3 ©Alberta Education, Alberta, Canada (2010) ORGANIZATION OF THE PROGRAM Specific Outcomes OF STUDIES Each general outcome is further broken down into General Outcomes specific outcomes that students are to achieve by the end of each grade/course. The specific General outcomes are broad statements identifying outcomes are interrelated and interdependent. In the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students most classroom activities, a number of learning are expected to achieve in the course of their outcomes are addressed in an integrated manner. language learning experience. Four general outcomes serve as the foundation for this program The specific outcomes are categorized under of studies and are based on the conceptual model cluster headings, which show the scope of each of outlined previously. the four general outcomes. These headings are shown in the graphic on the following page.