Turtle Talk

Story Published: Oct 27, 2010

Story Updated: Oct 22, 2010

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan legislature has taken a commonsense approach to the teaching of Native languages in the state’s public schools.

As of Sept. 30, public school students will get foreign language credits for succeeding in Native American language and culture classes taught by tribal elders and other Native language speakers who are not state-certified teachers.

The new law, Public Act 168 of 2010, was introduced in December 2009 by Sen. Mike Prusi, who represents the state’s 38th District, which includes most of the Upper Peninsula.

“With this new law we will put the best teachers, the tribal members who have the greatest knowledge about their culture and language, into our classrooms and teaching our children,” Prusi said at the signing ceremony. “I am happy to be the sponsor of this law because it means that all Michigan students will have the opportunity to be better informed about the history of our state, and about the people we share Michigan with and who have been here the longest.”

The signing ceremony took place in Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s capitol office and included leaders and members of the Hannahville Indian Community Tribe of Potawatomi Indians, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

Prusi’s bill, which amended a 1976 education act, allows the state Department of Education to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a federally recognized tribe, a board of education, or directors of a public school academy that authorizes the superintendent to issue a three-year letter of approval or continuing approval to allow the tribe, school district, or public school academy to use teachers who do not have a Michigan teaching certificate to teach a Native American tribal language and culture classes.

The Native language teachers will require proof of their proficiency, however.

“A memorandum of understanding entered into under this section shall require that a non-certificated teacher has demonstrated mastery of the tribal language either through a credential issued by a federally recognized Native American tribe or another means considered suitable by the department,” the law says.

The credits earned by students in a Native American tribal language taught by a non-certified teacher will be credited in the same way as any other foreign language.

Representatives from some of Michigan’s tribal nations lobbied for the law, said Alex Rossman, press secretary for the Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus.

“The law said you have to be certified, so this bill made an exception for Native American languages and culture. Sen. Prusi felt it was common sense reasoning, as well as who better to teach those classes than tribal elders? Why make them go through a lot of hoops to get certified? He felt we should be capitalizing on the resources available and making sure kids get the proper credit for those courses,” Rossman said.

Ed Pigeon, vice chairman of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), testified in support of the passage of the bill before both the House and Senate.

He said the new law will be enormously helpful in revitalizing and preserving the tribe’s language, which is called Pottawatomi or Bode’wadmimwen. It is one of three similar but distinct languages that are called “Nishnabemowen,” Pigeon said.

“The preservation of Bode’wadmimwen is important not only for the cultural and spiritual roles and significance the language has within the Potawatomi Community. Bode’wadmimwen has been an important part of our region’s historical and cultural heritage for hundreds, and likely thousands, of years. It is quintessentially a language of this place. Within the language is held unique understanding, perspectives and an inherent vast localized knowledge assembled over many generations.”

The Gun Lake Tribe currently has a weekly language program held at its community center and a children’s summer language program. The tribe’s children attend local public schools in the area. Currently, Gun Lake uses “second language speakers” to instruct the classes, Pigeon said. But as the language revitalization continues and expands, the hope is for young people eventually to be raised as fluent bilingual speakers.

The bill will enable individual tribes to establish a Memorandum of Agreement – or Inter-Governmental Agreement – between a tribal council and the Michigan State Department of Education to define guidelines for setting up a Native American language instructor qualification and approval process.

In Gun Lake’s case, Pigeon said, the new law will allow the creation of a local Potawatomi Language Education Board to work with the Michigan Education Department to establish a tribal credentialing process and set up official record keeping at the local level.

“And it will ensure that students will receive world language credits to meet Michigan’s graduation requirements under the Michigan Merit Standard, which requires pupils to complete at least two credits in a language other than English before graduating from high school, beginning with those entering third grade in 2006,” Pigeon said.

The bill passed through the House and Senate process without amendments. The Senate approved it Aug. 11 by a vote of 34-4. The House passed the bill Sept. 23 by a vote of 100-4.