Language Program Directory Information
Which Tribal/Indigenous community is your program/institution affiliated with?
Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation (Qʷidiččaʔa·tx̌), Neah Bay, WA
How many staff members work for your program/institution?
6 staff members.
How long has your program/institution existed?
Since 1978.
What is the contact information for your program/institution (e.g. mailing address, website, Facebook Page, etc.)?
Physical Address:
1880 Bayview Ave
Neah Bay, WA 98357
Mailing Address:
P.O. BOX 160
Neah Bay, WA 98357
Email: makahmuseum@centurytel.net
Phone: 360-645-2711
Fax: 360-645-2656
Please provide a brief description (approximately 5 sentences) about your program/institution.
The Makah Language Program's goals to (i) maintain and protect the Makah Language, (ii) restore and revitalize the Makah Language to spoken fluency, and (iii) educate our children and people as scholars, able to compete anywhere in today’s world and yet maintain their Tribal heritage. The Makah Language Program's overarching mission is to bring the language to a point of high vitality where Makah language becomes the main language of use once again.
What are challenges your program/institution has faced?
Funding and allocation; New conversational speaker creation; Need for more language practice and training of speakers and instructors overcome plateaus and reach higher conversational and fluency levels; recent disruption of teaching by COVID where the language couldn't be typed or word processed in the orthography until new keyboard for the language was produced.
What are existing projects your program/institution is working on?
Currently we have K-12 language classes at Neah Bay Elementary and High Schools. We received an ANA grant to supplement language teaching and learning activities as well as a before/after school program for K-8 (ended). We received an IMLS grant mid-COVID to produce a new dictionary/wordlist app (ended, project still in progress). We are also developing a language learning app via the BIA Living Languages Grant Program. We have also been newly awarded a 2021-22 grant for ELAN transcription of older digital audio.
What are the short-term goals for your program/institution (present day – 1 year from now)?
Pursuing further funding for and producing audio of speakers of common daily life phrases and images for the language learning app.
What are the long-term goals for your program/institution (1 year – 5 years from now)?
Transcribing archived audio from first speaker elders (majority untranscribed, will also supplement dictionary); Automatic speech recognition program development (Makah Automatic Speech Recognition [ASR]) with the International Wakashan AI Consortium (Caroline [Crow] and Michael Running Wolf [Northern Cheyenne]) for transcription at MIT.
From your perspective, how do you view the language activity in your tribe?
There is a lot of interest and a lot of support for language activity. It is used by children through K-12 and a need for higher levels of activity to continue through adulthood. There is a broad desire for wanting audio of the language to be available and heard more broadly.