Cultural Corner Update

Update from the Cultural Corner in Maiduland

An ambitious endeavor is now under-way to transcribe the complete collections of Donald P. Jewel obtained through some effort. This so far is turning out to be a wonderful project. The oral histories most of which have never been disclosed are a treasure trove of historical information. I could not have imagined doing something so rewarding until I started transcribing first hand accounts of life in maiduland or majdymk'odo if you prefer. This is going to bring much promise to our language programs not to mentioned cultural competency as it relates to what being indigenous meant for this region of the world at first contact. As someone who has looked with sadness upon the misinterpreted histories that have been made exclusively available to the general public this holds promise for some change as it relates to the first peoples of California.

Kanimsa, maiduman.

Konkow language updates

The language revitalization team have been working very hard for the community to process the available material so that curriculum and good learning tools can be developed.

The next meeting is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Monday February 28, 2011 at Mooretown Rancheria. If you are interested in being part of this vital community project please feel free to pop in to see how things are going. You can also post messages to this site with your concerns and ideas.

Send something that you would like to have made available for your local community to read and it will be posted. (Keep in mind that what you post should be written without derogatory language and should be positive.)

wy]te
pene
sa[y
cuje
ma wy]y
saj co]o
penembo
cuje co]o
cenem ma co]o
ma coko
zkz

Konkow Maidu Language Curriculum

We are working hard to develop learning material for members of the community interested in learning this language.  If you happen to have on hand older material that you don't mind having copied to add to the growing collection of material, please contact Julie McIntosh through this blog.  Material is anything from paper documents to cassette tapes to cds/dvds to videos and even pictures.

Your contribution will be documented for posterity.  There seem to be many names assigned to this language mostly from linguists including Northwestern Maidu, Konkow Maidu, Concow Maidu, Kankau, Konkow, Concow and there are probably others.  The true name of the language is kojomk'awi                    People of the garden or meadow.

In addition, to make things more readily available providing your emails to allow for the distribution of material electronically would be wonderful.  We know that there are community folks out there who are interested in participating in the revitalization and preservation of this language.

This is a forum to bring all of you together to discuss, contribute, and toss ideas around about your language and culture.  It's just one of many ways to keep it alive within your community.

Let's get started

This site is an effort on my part to jumpstart projects from a community basis.  Read through the pages and links to get a feel for what is going on here.  We will use this as a gathering place for people who are interested in learning more about their culture, language, and community.