nOnzAk'@bE

The Yuchi (also spelled Euchee) are the keepers of a unique language now spoken fluently by only a handful of elders. Yuchi people were forced from eastern homelands to Oklahoma on the so-called Trail of Tears. Despite these hardships and the lack of a land base, the Yuchi community continues to maintain its distinctive identity, cultural and social institutions, including ceremonies, medicinal knowledge, and unwritten histories, through the Yuchi language. Linguists identify Yuchi as a language isolate, unrelated to any other language. This means it is one of the world’s most ancient and richest languages, carrying eons of tradition, history and a unique perspective on the world.

The Yuchi House in Sapulpa, Oklahoma has become a home for the language where Yuchi people ages 3 months to 95 years come together every day to live in the language and embrace yUdjEhalA, the Yuchi way. Our community-based program started in 1996 and has created 16 second-language speakers who are competent to teach the language. Yuchi Language Project (YLP) serves the entire Yuchi community through language classes for all ages, culture camps, master-apprentice sessions, curriculum development, and by providing a wide range of opportunities for youth. The Yuchi elders and cultural values guide the collective work of the YLP.

YLP has grant funding to work with remaining first-language speakers who carry valuable language, stories, ceremonial, and cultural knowledge. This project requires a survey of all language resources and speakers, including semi fluent elders in the community who grew up with Yuchi as their first language. We uplift Maxine Wildcat Barnett as the most fluent elder living today. We are also blessed with an additional circle of elders between the ages of 60-90 who grew up with Yuchi as their first language and are contributing to recording sessions.

The Yuchi Language Project is a non-profit designed as a living language habitat to produce a new generation of Yuchi speakers. When we speak our own language, we embody our Indigenous culture and worldview like our ancestors. The current world crisis (COVID19) has reminded our Yuchi people to focus on what is essential, valuable, and natural. We have planted a 3-sisters garden to begin raising our traditional foods as a language opportunity. We see that the endangerment of our Indigenous languages is closely tied to the endangerment of flora and fauna in our environments.

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yUdjEha KAnAnô, yUdjEhalA nÔ'wAdA

We are Yuchi, we speak Yuchi

Our Mission

To keep alive the rich heritage of the Yuchi people by creating new young speakers of our unique language through breath-to-breath immersion methods with fluent elders and children.

Our Mission

To keep alive the rich heritage of the Yuchi people by creating new young speakers of our unique language through breath-to-breath immersion methods with fluent elders and children.

Our Board

Our Vision

Restore the vitality of the Yuchi language in our homes, ceremonies, churches, and create a sustainable language community where the fullness of the Yuchi worldview can thrive for future generations