1	00:00:07:11	00:00:10:27	>> I first go around
and plow my relatives out
2	00:00:10:29	00:00:12:13	a couple aunties
3	00:00:12:15	00:00:14:11	and cousins.
4	00:00:14:13	00:00:17:19	Then I have my, I call them, brothers, you know.
5	00:00:17:21	00:00:20:17	That's the way we say it
in our language.
6	00:00:20:19	00:00:22:17	Nematok are friends,
close friends.
7	00:00:22:19	00:00:25:06	We do things
in a good mind
8	00:00:25:08	00:00:28:06	and a good heart
and a good way.
9	00:00:28:08	00:00:30:06	When we need
that help
10	00:00:30:08	00:00:32:24	I guess
we believe
11	00:00:32:26	00:00:33:24	it will come
to us too.
12	00:00:36:23	00:00:38:00	What I'm doing is
ensuring that
13	00:00:38:02	00:00:43:07	the language goes
a generation beyond myself.
14	00:00:43:09	00:00:47:00	I'm gonna do that through my kids, you know.
15	00:00:47:02	00:00:55:04	[speaking in Menominee]
16	00:00:55:06	00:00:56:18	I'm teaching --
17	00:00:56:20	00:01:01:00	the language using
natural immersion.
18	00:01:01:02	00:01:04:08	Natural immersion is you
just talk about your day
19	00:01:04:10	00:01:06:14	the way you
would anything else,
20	00:01:06:16	00:01:08:21	only it's being done in Menominee.
21	00:01:08:23	00:01:10:21	I decided
to stay home
22	00:01:10:23	00:01:13:25	and teach her the language because it's
23	00:01:13:27	00:01:16:16	my last unique
opportunity
24	00:01:16:18	00:01:18:28	to be able
to raise
25	00:01:19:00	00:01:21:15	a first language
fluent speaker.
26	00:01:23:12	00:01:26:04	I think it's hard for her to want to speak
27	00:01:26:06	00:01:28:04	because nobody else does,
you know.
28	00:01:28:06	00:01:30:12	There's probably about
eight people that speak it.
29	00:01:30:14	00:01:33:04	We'll call it
ten.
30	00:01:33:06	00:01:36:16	You've got
ten of 10,000.
31	00:01:36:18	00:01:40:05	What's that
percent?
32	00:01:40:07	00:01:43:18	.0001, .0001%.
33	00:01:43:20	00:01:47:14	That's
a reality check.
34	00:01:47:16	00:01:50:28	The language,
it could die.
35	00:01:51:00	00:01:53:24	The idea that
we're trying to preserve
36	00:01:53:26	00:01:56:04	is a living
language.
37	00:01:56:06	00:02:00:21	Pematesemakat,
it lives.
38	00:02:00:23	00:02:03:25	[chanting in Menominee]
39	00:02:03:27	00:02:12:06	Every little thing
Is gonna be all right
40	00:02:12:08	00:02:16:24	For me and you
41	00:02:16:26	00:02:22:14	Don't you worry
about a thing
42	00:02:22:16	00:02:30:02	Every little thing
Is gonna be all right
43	00:02:30:04	00:02:32:27	[chanting in Menominee]
44	00:02:32:29	00:02:38:07	[talking in Menominee]
45	00:02:38:09	00:02:40:12	So there's words readily available
46	00:02:40:14	00:02:43:00	for everything in nature.
47	00:02:43:02	00:02:48:11	The word for falling snow
is --.
48	00:02:48:13	00:02:51:16	The word for snow
on the ground is --
49	00:02:51:18	00:02:56:28	crusted snow,
-- we say --.
50	00:02:57:00	00:03:01:04	The word snowflake
is even different yet
51	00:03:01:06	00:03:05:07	than both of them,
we say --.
52	00:03:05:09	00:03:08:21	[conversing in Menominee]
53	00:03:18:27	00:03:22:09	The beautiful thing is it's not much easier in the woods
54	00:03:22:11	00:03:24:24	because our language
is really based on
55	00:03:24:26	00:03:26:24	what's going on
out there.
56	00:03:26:26	00:03:30:23	How do we make that transition into today's life too?
57	00:03:30:25	00:03:33:18	We're not always sugaring,
we're not always ricing.
58	00:03:33:20	00:03:36:05	We spend a lot of
days at home
59	00:03:36:07	00:03:38:09	in the office,
on the road.
60	00:03:38:11	00:03:44:10	We've got to learn to express those things too, you know.
61	00:03:44:12	00:03:46:10	The language has
to make that transition
62	00:03:46:12	00:03:48:10	if it's going to
be relevant
63	00:03:48:12	00:03:49:23	and if it's going to
survive, you know.
64	00:03:52:09	00:03:55:18	When I was young my first main teacher, Waqseciwan
65	00:03:55:20	00:03:58:25	she was starting to get sick and forgetful, you know.
66	00:03:58:27	00:04:02:03	One day we were just sitting
at her house, talking
67	00:04:02:05	00:04:04:05	and she tells me
68	00:04:04:07	00:04:07:23	now I can die,
she told me.
69	00:04:07:25	00:04:10:10	For 25 years,
she said
70	00:04:10:12	00:04:13:28	I've tried to teach
someone this language.
71	00:04:14:00	00:04:16:15	Now, today,
I've done that.
72	00:04:16:17	00:04:19:01	Then she continued on in Menominee, she said
73	00:04:19:03	00:04:32:13	[quoting in Menominee]
74	00:04:32:15	00:04:34:16	She says,
you know
75	00:04:34:18	00:04:38:23	maybe you're going
to be an old man
76	00:04:38:25	00:04:43:05	and hear these kids
talking our language.
77	00:04:43:07	00:04:46:07	She said, I love ya.
78	00:04:46:09	00:04:48:07	Don't give up.