Ho-Chunk language being revitalized through new app
Growing up, Bridgette Schulz had learned a few words and phrases in Ho-Chunk through her mom, who taught the language. But she was always too busy to actually take classes and really learn the language.
Schulz, a Milwaukee resident, is aiming to remedy that through an app launched by the tribe this spring that allows users to learn at their own pace from anywhere.
“I would like to be able to speak fluently,” she said. “It’s important to us as Ho-Chunk that we know the language. I’d like to make my ancestors proud.”
The Hoit’e Woiperes eLearning Platform was created by the Ho-Chunk Language Division in partnership with The Language Conservancy, an organization that previously worked with the tribe to create a Ho-Chunk dictionary app.
The Language Conservancy is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Indigenous educators that works to preserve and revitalize Indigenous languages across the U.S. and around the world.
The new app, Hoit’e Woiperes, translates to “Knower of the Language” in Ho-Chunk, or Hoocąk.
It took several years to develop and includes interactive learning modules that incorporate reading, writing and, eventually, speaking systems.
Users start by answering how much time per day they're willing to put in to learn the language. But it’s not required that they stick to the timeframe.
There is a leaderboard, though, and Kayree Funmaker, who works in the tribe’s language division, said some people take that seriously as they try to become among the first in a new generation of Ho-Chunk speakers.
Funmaker and other tribal staff hosted a launch session of the app this month at the Ho-Chunk Community Center in Milwaukee, where they answered questions and showed more than a dozen attendees how to use the app.
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Funmaker said tribal educators saw the need for online learning during the COVID pandemic. So, the tribe invested in apps, such as Hoit’e Woiperes, and saw that tribal members living abroad also started taking advantage.
“Personally, I feel like our language is our identity,” she said. “It’s who we are.”
Indigenous language educators in Wisconsin say learning the language isn't simply replacing English words. It also helps create an Indigenous worldview.
For example, Indigenous language tends to focus on “we” and “us,” in contrast to a Westernized individualistic worldview. That can play a large role in understanding traditional ceremonies, arts and even how to raise a family.
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Also, a Western way of thinking separates humans from the natural environment, while an Indigenous way of thinking has humans working in symbiosis with the natural environment for mutual benefit, and that’s reflected in the language.
There are fewer than 50 first-language Ho-Chunk speakers in the world, but the tribe has had a lot of recent success in teaching it as a second language.
“Languages encapsulate much of the culture they come from and exist as one of the roots of identity and to maintain our sovereignty,” Ho-Chunk linguist Henning Garvin said. “So to maintain our identity and to maintain our sovereignty, I think it is vital and necessary that we maintain our language.”
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ho-Chunk language being revitalized through new app
