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The Yuchi Language Project established its immersion school in 2018 and has been adding a grade level each year to advance the initial preschool cohort of 12 students which has now progressed to first grade.  We are at a pivotal point in which a property purchase and a language village approach is essential for the continued success of the students who are primed to be educated fully in the immersion school as first language speakers.  Our work exemplifies our belief that Indigenous-led language immersion learning is the ultimate education sovereignty.  The Yuchi language carries wisdom and cultural teachings that do not translate into the colonial English language but are central to our relationships with one another and the living earth. 

 

The nonprofit is evolving to further nurture new young speakers and sustain their progress toward becoming lifelong culture bearers.  We are pursuing the development of a Living Language Village as a more holistic solution to the crisis of language and culture endangerment in our community.  The village setting will create spaces for intergenerational learning and natural language use in a cultural context.  All of the Yuchi Language Project’s interrelated components like the immersion school, teacher development, and community language programs will be centered at the language village with opportunities for people to work, learn, socialize, and live in the Yuchi language.  

The longstanding success of the Yuchi Language Project is only made possible by broad community support. Without a steady funding base, the 501(c)(3) non-profit program relies on grants and donations to keep its doors open. We maintain partnerships with public schools, libraries, churches, foundations, and tribal organizations. Despite proven methodology and community engagement, the Yuchi House can only create new speakers with operational funds.  

 

Children are the quickest learners, but also the quickest forgetters, so a lapse in funding can jeopardize the promising progress being made.

 

Please consider a donation today to support the program's greatest needs such as classroom supplies, children's snacks, van fuel, and elder honoraria.