When I sat down to write my blog reflecting on the summer of 2016, I knew it would be a difficult blog to write. I have never been someone who had just one favorite thing—my favorite color depended on my mood and my favorite books could probably be a library in and of themselves. So,… Read more »
One way to describe a summer with WAYK is that it provides the on-the-ground work experience that should be part of any training in language revitalization and documentation. In this blog I’ll describe it in these terms, mainly by contrasting it with the only other “official” training I’ve had, a masters degree at SOAS in… Read more »
With any intensive experience, there will be moments that really appeal to you and others that probably appeal to you less so. As a reflection of my time here this summer, and hopefully as some insight to interns that hope to apply for the WAYK Summer Intensive in the future, I hoped to share some… Read more »
I joined WAYK for the 2017 Summer Language Intensive on St. Paul Island, Alaska, because I wanted to learn more about the techniques involved and to learn more about approaches to Indigenous language revitalization. Visiting a remote island in the Bering Sea and its flora and fauna was a wonderful perk, too. After the summer… Read more »
When you work with Where Are Your Keys, a common question you encounter is “What do you actually do?” It’s a great question and I love to talk about my WAYK experience, but it is still also a tricky question to answer. The reason is that, in a lot of ways, to understand what we… Read more »
We’ve put together a list of some of the most common questions we get about WAYK internships and Summer Language Intensive projects. We hope that anyone who’s interested in applying for an internship with WAYK can find the answer to some of their burning questions below. If you have a question that’s not answered, please… Read more »
This summer, we are once again fortunate to offer WAYK internship opportunities during the 2019 Summer Language Intensive. The internship positions are sponsored by our host community, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, in North Vancouver, BC. Participating in a WAYK summer project is one of the best ways to be fully immersed in the work of language revitalization,… Read more »
It can be hard to imagine what a language revitalization summer looks like, but working to keep a language vital is a full-time endeavor. Here’s an updated look at what to expect from the WAYK Summer Intensive schedule in 2019. As with any program centered around language learning, it’s essential that we have daily contact with… Read more »
What you can expect as a summer participant: You will learn how to use WAYK. One of the main purposes of the WAYK Summer Intensive is to provide comprehensive training in WAYK skills, something that is difficult to demonstrate or even explain in a week-long workshop or a few language lessons. A good way to think about the… Read more »
WAYK is very excited to announce—after months (and years!) of planning with the host community—that our 2019 Summer Intensive will take place in North Vancouver, British Columbia! This will be WAYK’s 9th summer project with a partner community. In 2019, we will continue our partnership with Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN). Due to the location and history… Read more »
Take notes like a pro, or like a 5th grader, so long as you do it! In 2015, during my first summer with WAYK, Evan and Susanna gave me a hunting book to use for tracking the chinuk wawa I was learning. I’ll be honest: I didn’t really like or use it. I found it… Read more »
Summer Language Intensives have a lot going on. All the time. Whether it’s lesson prep, an important conversation to be had, hunting language from elders over tea, or even just keeping the coffee station running, there’s always something that needs to be done. How does one keep everything going smoothly, especially with a larger team?… Read more »
I first met Evan and Susanna at a handful of WAYK workshops, which were each about two to five days long: three workshops at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage and one at the Songhees Wellness Center in Victoria, BC. Because of my attendance at these workshops, I was lucky enough to find out… Read more »
Learning a language is exciting, but it can also be scary. I get nervous when I stumble over new sounds, hoping no one nearby noticed. My cheeks feel hot every time I ask someone to pronounce a word so that I can understand and copy the sounds correctly. Suddenly it feels as if my ability… Read more »
Before I arrived at the St. Paul Unangam Tunuu Summer Language Intensive, I wondered what we would do on a typical day. I knew that there would be no teacher standing at the front of the room, no textbooks. How would we fill our time from nine to five? I discovered here a variety of… Read more »
My name is Timothy A. Zaochney and I’m from Atka, Alaska. I’ve been doing the Niiĝuĝim Tunuu language program for three years. I’m joining the team this summer in Anchorage as an APICDA intern. I got involved in the language program when Evan came down to Atka for the first time in 2013. I’m interested… Read more »
Hi, my name is Junior Golodoff. I’m from Atka, Alaska. This here is my third year with the Summer Language Intensive. I’m joining the team as an APICDA intern. What got me involved with the language is my friends because without them I probably wouldn’t be here. What got me interested in the language was that… Read more »
My first introduction with Unangam Tunuu came during the fall of 2015, when I heard of classes at the Aleutian Pribilof Island’s Association building here in Anchorage. The need for understanding the words and the sounds was something that I was excited about. The classes at that time worked with my schedule, so I continued… Read more »
Hello, my name is Bobbi Dushkin. I got involved with the language project 2 years ago when Crystal came up to me at a Christmas party and asked if I would like to learn the Aleut language. So I went to Atka in 2016 and that was my first summer in the language project. Summer… Read more »
Hi, my name is Kira, and I live in Wasilla, AK, but I’m from St. Paul Island. Language has always been a part of my life since I was young; I got into the WAYK program three years ago with my mom and my brother. Since I got started, I have learned to teach beginners… Read more »
