Community effort brings Potawatomi to a new generation of the Prairie Band

A small group of young people on the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indian reservation in Northeast Kansas have decided to do something about the language decline on their reservation.

They knew the importance of and meaning of the tribal language and how it, along with culture, religion, history and tradition, is the lifeblood of the tribe.

It didn't come easy for this determined group but something worthwhile never is anymore.

In fact, one Potawatomi man laughed upon hearing a language class was starting. "You can't learn to talk Potawatomi," he said.

To compound this apathy, the class called on linguists who had done some work on the language in the past, but the request for help was denied or ignored.

From that point on the group made a decision to ask for no more help and to do it themselves. This also meant not asking for any outside financial assistance.

Because of this autonomy, the group proceeded at their own pace and was under no pressure to meet any predetermined deadlines.

Eddie Joe Mitchell, with a strong background in English and journalism at Washburn University, graduating in 1991, was one of the early organizers and often played the role of facilitator by sounding out the words and writing them on a makeshift blackboard.

Potawatomi elders, who wanted the language to continue on, came forward to teach. Men such as Nelson Potts and Irving Shopteese were both supportive and instrumental in the early days of the class. After these two men died, Potawatomi women such as Cecilia "Meeks" Jackson and Albert "Shaw no que" Wamego stepped forward to take up the slack.

These elders asked for nothing in return, just a few simple concessions: that the material was never to be copied or to end up in books and so far these wishes have been followed.

In the initial phases of the class, 50-60 students attended the class at one point or other. Some went from one class to several weeks. Of these original students, only three have remained with the group from the beginning - Eddie Joe Mitchell, Mary Wabnum and Mary LeClere.

All the hard work is paying off. The three students have since accumulated 6,000 words of the language and the ability to use them in sentences. No small feat considering that the language is extremely hard to learn.

A study such as this is equivalent to a post graduate level linguistic class, but of course the only grade given is when an elder of the tribe nods approvingly on hearing the words used in a tribal ceremony.

One of the long-term benefits of the class is the influence has spread out among the community to where the usage is more prevalent today. Mostly, by everyday use by the participants, the elders and their children are now using parts of the language in daily situations.

The group has a philosophy that they are not trying to teach 50 people how to speak the language, but are putting all their efforts into a few people who in turn will teach others. "The obligation of the students is to pass on what they have learned to another generation of Potawatomi," said Mitchell. Today, the hard work of all those classes, which started on September 20, 1990, is starting to pay off.

Eddie Joe Mitchell can now help and strengthen the tribal culture and religion with his ability to speak the language. An outstanding accomplishment when we consider that only a short time ago the tribe was in danger of losing its language entirely.

Members of this class are doing more for the future generations of the Potawatomi Tribe than they realize or will ever know. And that is how history is made.