When I am driving to work I feel like
maybe my ancestors are there cheering me on.
I'm sure they are.
Obviously, they want
their language to go on
they want our language to go on.
My name is Arlene Blackdeer.
I am a Ho-Chunk language apprentice.
The Ho-Chunk master apprentice program
is basically made up
to create younger speakers
that will go on teaching the language and culture.
I work with --.
That's Aurelia Hopinkah's.
She grew up in the Dells area.
She was raised
by her mom and dad
and she was also sent to her grandparent's house.
They were sent to the elders to be taught
what the elders know, so they can carry on
those stories and those ways.
[speaking in Ho-Chunk]
We work on any thing and everything.
When I first started my apprenticeship
we were together all the time.
That was my idea
of the best
and the most that I've learned.
Everything she knows she shares with me
like why we do stuff that we do.
You know, why are the different stories told
and why do they tell that story?
I think that's pretty amazing.
[speaking in Ho-Chunk]
I remember hearing
from my elders, and even now to this day,
that when our language dies,
that's gonna be the end of our world.
When I was younger I really did not
understand that.
Now that I'm older I see that.
I see it, because it's so close
coming to an end.
So I thought
out of respect for my elders
and everything they've gone through,
that's the least I can do for them.
I think that it's almost
too early to tell, but when we had
the immersion daycare, that's where I saw the results.
That's where the speakers came from.
[speaking in Ho-Chunk]
So I think it's too early to say
I don't see anything happening in the 4k
or in the high schools.
And what's tomorrow?
I usually say it
when I say, see you later.
What is it?
--.
Anybody remember October?
Or what it means, without looking.
>> It's like the season of the--
>> Deer hide.
>> So how do you say deer?
I do see us raising awareness
to the high school students so that at some point
they can go on to further their learning.
We're building their language and giving them
the basics so they can go out
on their own and possibly
become an apprentice.
[reciting in Ho-Chunk]
Are they going to be fluent after they
are done with high school? No.
Will they know a lot more
than they what they went in there with?
Probably.
[speaking in Ho-Chuck]
We have family fun night, just to get the community
involved.
It's really to raise awareness of
what the language division is doing.
Our goal, in my mind
is to bring back our Ho-Chunk language
bring it back to the communities bring it back to the work place
bring it back to more family events, and just have it
revitalized.
Bring it back to life again.
I guess, if I wanted to say anything
to anybody in any native community,
is get involved.
Get involved in your language.
Get involved in your culture.
It makes you who you are
as a person
or as a community.
Don't let it get to where
it's almost to the point where you
can't bring it back.
I feel like we're nearing that.
But with the efforts that we're making
I feel, in my heart, that we can actually do it.