Bellevue College student and KBCS reporter, Laura Florez visited the Tulalip Lushootseed Language Program with us, and brings you this story on what it means to be a language warrior.
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Lushootseed is the language spoken by Coast Salish tribes in the greater Seattle region. In 1819, Congress passed the Civilization Fund Act to assimilate indigenous youth to western culture. The policy authorized forcible separation of indigenous children from their families to be sent to boarding schools, where they were to be stripped of their language, culture and religious practices. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that this practice was outlawed. Today, members of these communities are reawakening their native language through educational programs.
Bellevue College student and KBCS reporter, Laura Florez spoke with Lois Landgrebe, a Lushootseed educator at Quil Ceda Tulalip elementary school in Tulalip, Washington. Landgrebe describes what it means to be a language warrior.
Producers: Laura Florez, Yukiko Arichi and Yuko Kodama
Last Updated November 7, 2022