Language Apprentice – The Ways – PBS Wisconsin Education

How does language revitalization affect a community?

Language apprentice Arlene Thunder Blackdeer believes it is essential to keep Ho-Chunk Nation traditional knowledge alive by passing culture and language from elders to younger generations. Learn how she keeps the language alive.

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Questions to consider

Discuss Arlene’s comment, “When our language dies, that’s going to be the end of our world.” How is language part of Arlene’s identity? How is language part of your identity?

View another Ways story, Living Language, about a father passing down the Menominee language tradition to his daughter. What are the similarities and differences between these two stories?

A sense of place

Map with outlines of tribal lands of the Great Lakes region circa 1800. The star indicates the present-day seat of government for the Ho-Chunk Nation, in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. A dotted white line indicates the present day state lines of Wisconsin.

This map outlines tribal lands of the Great Lakes region circa 1800.

The star indicates the present-day seat of government for the Ho-Chunk Nation, in Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

In their words

“Our goal in my mind is to bring back our Ho-Chunk language–bring it back to the communities, bring it back to the workplace bring it back to more family events.”

Arlene Thunder Blackdeer

Production credits

Producer
Finn Ryan

Videography
Lukas Korver

Editing
Lukas Korver

Photography
Finn Ryan

Music
Asche & Spencer

Advisors
David O’ Connor
Aaron Bird Bear
Ryan Comfort
Tyler Blue Tarpalechee
Ben Grignon