Chinuk Wawa is an Indigenous language of our region which is being revitalized as the community language of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Chinook Indian Nation. Since 2006, it is also offered as a college class via Lane Community College. The college language program has played many roles, helping tribal language workers to build their proficiency, helping Indigenous students connect to their ancestral language, providing a starting point for further study of other Indigenous languages, and introducing non-Indigenous students to elements of the language, cultures, and issues of Native people in our region.

This lecture happens at the Corvallis Museum.
About the presenters:

Beth Sheppard has been a language teacher for over 20 years. She currently teaches at Lane Community College and the University of Oregon.
Diane Smith is a Native American of Molalla,  Wasco, Chinook, Klamath and metis heritage and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and has been teaching Chinuk Wawa at LCC since 2023