Shawnee Strength During COVID-19

With fewer than twenty known speakers remaining in early 2020, the Shawnee Tribe declared an official state of emergency for the Shawnee language and committed the entire decade 2020-2030 to the language's survival. Just weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic upended everything from daily routines to our communities and ceremonies. The Tribe's language department reluctantly implemented Zoom classes for the first time in what was meant to be a temporary solution for citizens craving cultural community in the era of social distancing. But the Tribe ended up reaching Shawnee people across the continent—citizens who had been disconnected from the culture and were hungry to reconnect with their ancestral language.

[ShawneeRising]

The Shawnee Tribe is doing an amazing job getting the language out to the people. I practice daily. As someone that doesn't have anyone to speak to or practice with, my advice is just to speak it out loud as if you were talking to someone and then reply to whatever you said. That way you're not just learning a one way conversation, but learning to respond as well. Its helped me a lot. Niyâwe to George, Joel, Ben, and everyone involved in getting these programs to the people.